In case you haven’t heard, Broad Street Hockey will be branching out on our own, meaning we’re free to explore new opportunities. One of the new things we will be trying is a new gambling section, where some of the writers here will give their picks and opinions on games, futures, awards… you name it. Going forward everyday of the season and post-season we will have a few picks and would love for you to tell us yours.
As a disclaimer, we want to be as forthright as possible. We are not experts and we have no special inside information. We are just regular people giving our opinion on what team will win a hockey game. That’s not to say we are clueless here; we know hockey and the folks who will be contributing to our betting content know betteing. But we aren’t going to tell you we are going to make you rich. Take our picks or don’t, as always, gambling comes with risk, and the risk is all yours. For us, the purpose of this is to create a new part of our community. Broad Street Hockey is nothing without its readers and that’s no different here. This may not be your cup of tea, and that’s okay. But if you do read, be active in the comment section. Give your own picks, talk to other commenters, and tell us why we are stupid for making our picks. That’s the beauty of betting: everyone has a different opinion, this is just a new place to talk about those opinions.
Now that you know what we are trying to do here, here is a simple beginners guide to betting hockey.
Over/Under
The simplest bet in hockey is probably the over/under bet. The sports books will set a line – for instance 5.5 goals – and you will need to choose if there will be over or under that 5.5 goals total scored in that game. Sometimes you will see an even number, for instance 6 goals, in that case if the total falls right on six the bet is a wash and you neither win or lose.
Money Line
This bet is simply who you think will the game. Odds can be anything from -400 all the way to +400 and everything in between. For those of you not familiar, – 400 means you have to bet $400 to win $100. For the opposite, +400 odds means if you bet $100 and that team wins you will win $400. Obviously you do not have to bet $100 and can instead bet whatever amount you’d like, this is just an easy way to read to the odds.
Puck Line
This is where things get a little more interesting. The puck line is usually set at +/-1.5 goals. This means that team you’re betting on will need to either win by more than two goals or lose by fewer than two goals in order for you to win your bet. This is a useful bet if you really like a team in a game but don’t like the odds that the money line is giving you. This is also where empty netter can factor in, making the game important until the final whistle.
Prop Bets
Things can get a little confusing here, but they can also get a little fun. A prop bet in hockey can be anything from, “I think this player will score a goal” to “I think this game will go to overtime” and everything in between. This means that even if you think the game will be a blowout and don’t like any of the three options above, there is still always something to bet on.
Let us know what you’d like to see from our sports betting content going forward in the comments!
