The National Hockey League in North America may come a distant fourth in terms of the most popular sports in the USA and Canada after basketball, baseball, and American football, but this has not stopped bookmarkers from posting betting lines on various ice hockey league from around the world.
For bettors, its important to understand some of the terms used in hockey betting and the best strategies to use when backing your bets. Not all bookmakers have introduced hockey betting markets and the first step is identifying the best provider which may be done through a simple online search.
Understanding the markets available
A typical ice hockey game consists of six players from each side: the goalie, two defenders and three attacking players. The coach is usually at the touchline making changes related to the game such as changing players depending on the opponent’s tactics. Before betting on any ice hockey game make sure you look at the team’s statistics as statistics are valuable when it comes to coming up with a perfect betting strategy. The following are some of the ice hockey markets available online.
- Goal market
This market allows you to predict the total number of goals for the entire match or individual team goals. From last season’s statistics, the goal market is the most preferred market since many ice hockey games goals come in relatively large numbers.
- Point market
Points are awarded to players who either score or assist a goal. Individual points are summed up together at the end of the game and at the end of the season hence you are able to monitor the statistics of each player at the end of each match day.
- Match results
This is the most straight forward ice hockey bet as you are only required to predict who will win a particular match. The odds differ depending on the strength of the opponent and previous match outcomes.