Introduction
In their simplest form, sports are physical activities with an aspect of competition. Where there’s competition, there’s a chance for betting, which is exactly what this piece will introduce you to. There are many sports worldwide, and all have different rules, regulations, teams, games and fanbases. This piece will introduce you to the world of Ice Hockey and how you can get involved in betting on this intriguing sport.
Understanding the fundamentals of Ice Hockey and some of the more intricate elements is crucial for making the most effective bets on the game’s many events. Additionally, you should know various betting methods and techniques that you may apply in such a competitive market.
Ice Hockey Betting Explained
Residents of Canada and the USA, along with people who watch from the outside, would argue that Ice Hockey is one of those sports that gets you hooked right from the start. There are various leagues within Ice Hockey, all of which have their teams, divisions and fanbases that follow their favourite clubs week-in and week-out. Even if you are not a sports fan, you can get involved with betting on it.
Due to COVID’s effect on the 2020/21 season, the NHL saw ‘only’ $2.9 billion in total revenue. The average revenue for an NHL season is around $5 billion, almost half the revenue expected to be made in each National Football League season. This shows that Ice Hockey is a smaller sport overall but still brings in a decent amount of viewing and revenue annually. There are multiple streams of revenue in Ice Hockey, including ticket sales, private box sales, TV licensing, merchandise sales and sponsorship deals with different companies.
In any sport, there are rules and regulations that all players must follow. These rules can determine the play out of an entire season of a sport. Ice Hockey is played by 12 people, six from each team, and these players can swap between the rest of their 20-person squad as and when the manager sees fit. The ice rink is 61 metres in length and 30 metres in width. It is split into three sections, with a neutral zone in the middle and the offensive/defensive thirds dependent on which team currently has the puck. The game is scored as goals, much like football, and a goal is scored every time the puck is pushed into the net. Games last 60 minutes in total; three 20-minute periods. Play only stops between these periods or when the puck leaves the rink, a penalty is given or a goal is scored.
You need to understand some terms before starting your ice hockey betting journey. These terms include the following:
‘Favourite’
The favourite is the team which bookmakers think is more likely to win. In Ice Hockey, a game cannot end in a draw, there has to be a winner out of the two teams, and one of these teams will always be the favourite.
‘Underdog’
This is the complete opposite of the favourite. The underdog is the team that people think is going to lose the game. For this reason, the underdog will typically have much higher odds because people think they will lose the game.
‘Sharp Money’
This is a slang term which refers to the team that the experts are betting on. This could typically be related to the favourite, as most people will bet on this, but the experts could see value in the underdog for a game.
Ice Hockey Betting Markets
The odds on various bookmakers may be shown in fractional or decimal format. The odds are always presented on the BetConnect back books in a fractional format. If these chances are unclear, you can calculate the possible payout if your wager is successful. When you click on the choice you are considering making, it will be added to your bet slip. By selecting BetConnect as your go to betting partner, you guarantee the best odds on every market! We have created a system that finds all the available odds from different bookmakers and puts them in one place.
Once the option appears on your bet slip, you may input the required stake in the appropriate box; your stake will change to the ‘Profit’ box. This profit box calculates your bet and estimates your return (excluding your stake, which is not classed as profit). This is useful if you have trouble understanding fractional odds and cannot calculate your potential earnings.
You have a few alternatives for the games you click on at BetConnect when it comes to Ice Hockey betting. Before investing money in any market, you must grasp these possibilities since they all have distinct meanings. The markets you may anticipate when viewing an ice hockey game on BetConnect are described below.
Match Result Betting
Match Result (3-way) betting is popular in sports like football, but it also functions similarly in ice hockey. In essence, match result betting determines whether you believe the game will favour either team or end in a draw. Due to this, the wager is referred to as 3-way. These are one of the most common markets because they are easy to understand; you are either backing someone to win or stating that the game will end as a draw after the conclusion of the games standard length before overtime. In these markets, you will see the previously mentioned favourites and underdogs, determined by a large gap in the odds for both teams.
Puck Line Betting
Ice hockey’s equivalent of spread or handicap betting is puck line betting. You may alter even the odds by assigning either team a point handicap. For instance, you might give the underdog a positive Puck Line, which would indicate that you were giving them extra points on top of their final score and predicting that they would win if these various points were legitimate.
The opposite is also true. Give the winner a negative handicap if you anticipate them winning by a significant margin and claim they would still prevail even if these points were taken away. In other sports, these bets are known as Handicap, and in its simplest form, you give the underdog an advantage or the favourite a disadvantage to even out the playing field. These are similar to Match Result bets but with an extra layer of excitement and improved odds.
Over/Under Goals Betting
When you place an Overs wager, which is typically represented as “Over 5.5,” you are predicting that the game will include MORE than 5.5 goals; thus, if there are six goals or more, your wager is successful. The same logic applies in reverse, except you predict that the final score will be LESS THAN 5.5 goals, or five goals or less.
These bets are typically good when an Ice Hockey game looks evenly matched. The two teams’ skill levels can improve the odds for Over and Under Goals bets.
Money Line Betting
Money line betting is a more objective approach to predicting which side will win a game is using money line betting. By eliminating the potential of a tie, you are predicting that one team will win the match outright. These wagers typically contain extremely clear odds indicating which team is the favourite and which is expected to win before the game starts.
Ice Hockey Betting Strategy
If you keep checking, you will find an Ice Hockey betting tutorial in our Blog area. This article will teach you how to bet on ice hockey and locate value in various markets on our website. Naturally, having access to the greatest odds at all times can increase your wins. Of course, you can bet without a proper strategy, just placing bets on the teams you think will win, but this will not guarantee success and could see you losing more bets than you win.
Thanks to BetConnect, you can easily access Matched Betting on all sports. Matched betting is a strategy that allows you to guarantee your safety regardless of your bet’s outcome. Essentially, you place two bets; one that says an outcome WILL happen and one that says it WILL NOT.
Matched betting is a straightforward idea. In matched betting, you use the free bets that various bookmakers give to brand-new clients. You may continue using matched betting in this manner for a long time with such a broad range of bookies. You may participate in the game using Matched Betting Pro on BetConnect without having to visit many different bookies. Watching your balance decrease is significantly less satisfying than making a consistent profit with no danger to your bank account.
When you engage in matched betting, half of your stake is placed on the Lay Exchange. As this is an exchange rather than a bookmaker, you must consider fluidity. Simply put, these operate similarly to an investing exchange where the odds continuously change, and the prices are quite erratic. Matching bettors may find it difficult to put the wager at the same odds on both ends due to this continual number swapping, but Betconnect has you covered.
The Lay Bet Timer is an option in Matched Betting Pro. By locking the lay bets on Betconnect’s end using this timeframe, you may make it simpler for the opposite side of the bet to be matched. This can help you place your matched bets with much less time, worry, and loss of money. The result is a far more fluid interaction between the exchange and the bookmaker due to everything put together. This matched betting tool has been greatly improved by the inclusion of the option to lock in your lay bets.
All of the factors with Matched Betting Pro on BetConnect mean that you can expect a seamless and profitable experience with matched betting. Of course, you can still place normal wagers, but matched betting is much safer overall.
Popular Ice Hockey Competitions To Bet On
The National Hockey League (NHL), which has 32 clubs split between the United States and Canada, is the highest level of hockey in North America. Given that it is one of Canada’s major sports, it is one of the top athletic categories in North America.
The NHL season begins at the beginning of October and ends in June following the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This indicates that there is a tonne of betting options throughout the regular NHL season, and of course, BetConnect offers markets on every game during the duration of the season.
Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL)
The EIHL is the highest senior level of hockey in the UK. It features 10 of the best teams who all play to reign victorious at the end of the season. This league was founded in 2003 and has seen various winners since its beginning.
The current holders of the EIHL title are the Belfast Giants. The Sheffield Steelers and the Belfast Giants share the spot for most titles with five each in the competition’s runtime.
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship
The IIHF World Championship is an international Ice Hockey competition that features the best players from each involved country battling it out to take the crown back to their country. This competition is played annually between 16 teams. It was founded in 1908, meaning it has been running for over 100 years!
This competition could be good for bets because some of the teams are very strong competitors, and they may come up against a team who is a bit weaker in defence.
Summary
Our principal focus is ensuring the safety of our players; thus, we place a lot of importance on providing a variety of safe gambling features on our website. If you think gambling is becoming risky or problematic, these methods can help you stop or manage it. Please gamble responsibly.
Now you know about betting on Ice Hockey and its many annual events, you can get involved immediately through BetConnect.