Understanding NHL Betting 

The NHL is the premier professional Ice Hockey League in North America. It consists of teams from two countries and is thus very popular amongst Australian punters. Ice Hockey is Australia’s national sport, and proudly followed and bet on by a large swath of the population. In order to make your bets more successful, one must have a good understanding of how betting on NHL actually works. 

Money Line Bet

As with all sports there are betting markets which cater to all levels of punters. One of the more advanced markets which is essential to understand is the NHL Betting Line. Up until 2005 NHL games could still end in a tie, but during that year a game deciding shootout was added to the rules. This now means that all NHL games will have a conclusion, thus making Moneyline betting one of the most popular betting markets one can play.

With a moneyline bet the punter simply chooses the team which they think will win. There are no handicaps involved in this market which makes it a good one for all levels of experience. A typical moneyline bet would be, for example, New Jersey Devils +220, San Jose Sharks -260 which means that you will have to put down $2.60 to win back $1 on the Sharks. Moneyline bets are straight forward, but do not often carry as big a rewards as some of the other betting markets.

Puck Line Bet

For many years Puck line bets were the so called bread and butter of NHL betting. With the advent of the shootout in 2005, this betting market has changed somewhat but still remains one of the more popular bets to place by Australian punters. A puck line bet is basically a combination of a moneyline bet and a point spread bet, which means that it covers most bases.

An example of a puck line bet would be New Jersey Devils +1.5 -150; San Jose Sharks -1.5 +130. This basically means that if you want to bet on the Sharks you will have to lay down $1.30 for each $1 that you want to gain.

The catch here is that the Sharks have to win by two goals as well as covering the -1.5 puck line. As you can see a puck line bet is more lucrative than a moneyline bet, as it is not as easy to get right. If the underdog, in the case the Devils, lose by one goal it still counts as win for the. Also if the game goes into overtime or a shootout, the underdog also pays out.

Totals and Other Bets

The experienced Australian punter will also take a look at a few other bets which are offered by ausbet sports betting sites on NHL games and series.

The totals bet is also called an Under Over bet in many other sports. This is just an estimate made by the bookies as to the game’s final total score. You as a punter have to wager on whether the actual final score will be over or under the total predicted by the bookie.

Proposition bets are growing in popularity with punters. These are bets on basically anything which is not covered by the main betting markets. For example, a proposition bet could include whether the game goes into overtime, or even whether there will be a fight in the first half.