Hockey is one of the four most popular sports (along with football, basketball and tennis) among bettors. Hockey bets bookmakers can be made on all popular leagues NHL, KHL, championship and others. Hockey is considered to be one of the fastest and most-watched sports in the world, which is definitely appreciated by fans. There is also a wide choice of bet types in hockey, but it is very important to pay attention to the nuances. An example is the winner’s stake one will allow you to predict a tie in regular time, while another will determine the winner including extra time and a series of post-match throws.
Hockey is known as the fastest game in the world and it is difficult to find a sport that is faster, more physical and more exciting than that, so it serves as a great object for betting. Hockey has the same league and international competition formats as, for example, football, so the odds are often very similar. Given that the goal of the game is to score more goals than the opponent’s, the types of bets are essentially the same as the determination of the winner of a football or cup, the winner of the game, the first/next winner, over/under and the like.
The most popular hockey league in the world is the National Hockey League. The NHL is made up of 31 teams based in the United States or Canada. Each team plays 82 games in the regular season 41 at home and 41 away. Like in basketball, the large amount of games in hockey provides several opportunities to find valuable bets every day. The odds placed by bookmakers can often be less accurate than with a smaller number of games, giving bettors ample opportunity throughout the season.
Handicap: The most popular handicap in hockey is 1.5. +1.5 for a non-favorite team. For a bet to be successful, a team must not lose with a deficit of two or more goals. The favorites will have a handicap of -1.5, which means that for the bet to be successful, the team must win by at least two goals. The second most common handicap is 0.5, which means that a team with a +0.5 handicap must not lose with more than one goal deficit and a team with a -0.5 handicap must win with at least one goal advantage.
Over / Under: The bet allows you to predict the number of goals scored in the game above or below a certain number. The most common over/under bets in hockey are above 5.5. For example, if Riga’s Dinamo meets St. Petersburg’s SKA and the goal is expected to be in abundance, say 5: 4, which is nine goals in total, the bet will be made on the goal scored above 5.5. However, if it is considered that the game will not be as successful, such as 3: 2, the bet will be made on less than 5.5 goals.