Basic Hockey Betting Strategy

Your margin for error is pretty slim in sports like football, soccer, and basketball. That’s because oddsmakers spend a lot of time setting up lines for these sports since so many people wager on them. Hockey, on the other hand, doesn’t see as much betting action around the world and so oddsmakers don’t devote a whole lot of time to these lines.

In other words, you have a good chance to cash in by betting on hockey. Of course, success in hockey wagering doesn’t come overnight so you’ll need to know a few basics before you can start winning with consistency.

Goaltending is Crucial

Just as great pitchers can propel baseball teams to victory, great goaltenders can help their teams out immensely. The only problem is that the NHL (the world’s biggest hockey league) doesn’t tote every little goaltender statistic like the MLB does with pitchers so you’ll have to do a lot more research. When researching goaltenders, you need to find out who is on a hot streak while avoiding those who’ve been letting the puck go by with frequency.

Besides looking at the obvious things like saves and goals allowed, you’ve also got to ask yourself some deeper questions. For instance, does the goalie in question struggle against certain teams? Does he have a small leg injury which could play a big factor when stretching to stop the puck? Is he really good at handling smaller, quicker forwards? The more questions like these you can answer, the closer you are to figuring out the goaltending matchups within your wagers.

Underdogs mean Big Money

Most of the time, oddsmakers make pretty accurate lines for the games they handicap. But everything goes out the window in hockey because it is one of the most upset-riddled sports in the world. On any given night, the worst team in the league could destroy the best team in the league so standings often mean nothing. With this being the case, you can win major money in hockey by betting on the underdogs.

This is especially true come playoff time because the seedings for different teams mean very little in the end. It seems like every year, a 1 or 2 seed loses to a 7 or 8 seed in the first round of the playoffs. As you can guess, there’s definitely some cash to be make in playoff series such as these! Of course, to catch the upsets within playoff series, you need to focus on a variety of factors including individual matchups, the aforementioned goalie play, who is on a hot streak, etc.

Look for Great Teams coming off a Loss

In addition to checking for underdogs who can help your betting chances, you should also be focusing on great teams as well – particularly those great teams that are coming off of a loss.

The NHL has an 82 game season and within this long season, there are almost always a couple of teams that win over 60 games. Since these teams are winning at a 75% rate, it’s unlikely that they’re going to lose back-to-back games. This is especially true if they’re playing their next game at home because they will be extra motivated to get a convincing win in front of the home crowd. Make sure to check scores everyday so you can find matchups where good teams will be coming off of a loss.

Pay Attention to the Game

The old philosophy in sports betting is that fans don’t win wagers; people who study trends and statistics win wagers. And it’s true that simply knowing who the players are and which teams are good won’t get you very far. However, it definitely does help to know something about the league since you can’t rely on stats alone to win bets. If you become a fan of hockey, or are already one, you will have a leg up on those who don’t pay much attention to the game.

Manage your Bankroll Properly

Not everything in sports betting revolves around paying attention to statistics and games. A large portion of being a successful sports bettor is knowing how to properly manage your money. You could be the best hockey bettor in the world, but if you can’t manage a bankroll, you’ll also be a broke hockey bettor.

Of course, most really good hockey bettors know that managing a bankroll goes with the territory. They also know that hockey wagering is filled with highs and lows so one can’t place too much emphasis on a single game.

Instead, you’ve got to look at hockey betting as a yearly activity. A bad week here or there is not going to throw you off if you remain consistent throughout the entire season. You’ve also got to keep this in mind when wagering on single games since you don’t want to devote too much of your bankroll to one game. Instead, you should only put 5% or less of your bankroll into each game.