Building a Quality Ice Hockey Betting Strategy

A betting strategy when betting on ice hockey will be the key to successful bets.

Marking the Schedule

Marking the schedule is a way to keep track of the season when it starts.  When looking at the schedule it is best to consider a few of the following.  Look at whether teams are playing home or away games in close succession.

Looking at the starting times of their games is another factor to look at.  If their starting times are different from the usual it may affect their internal clocks.  If there are long trips included in the schedule or if there are games where groups of teams have to play it may its toll on the players’ stamina.

Looking at the entire schedule helps bettors see where their team may not be able to play at their best.  Knowing which teams have a rivalry with one another may also affect the way in which they play.

The Goalie

Knowing who is starting in goal is a crucial aspect of a betting strategy.  This position is an important one in ice hockey.  Knowing who will be playing this position is important and a reliable source must be used when looking for this information.

Sometimes the same person will not always play in this position, especially if the team is playing two games in succession. When the back-up goalie is playing there may be a drop in the team’s performance and you may want to have some fun at Lucky Nugget Casino Canada instead of placing your wagers on a team that may fall short.

Staying Ahead of the Market

Being ahead of the market is important and tracking each bookmaker’s listings for each game will help bettors establish this important aspect of “value”.  Printing out the odds each day when they are released and when the bookies closed is a good way to find out what the bookies think are the correct openers and what the public think is a good closer.

Looking at a range of prices for every team in multiple situations is a good way of looking at placing a bet.

No Short Odds on Totals

Hockey totals are usually lined with similar fixed numbers such as 5, 5.5 or sometimes 6.  Bookies usually have the advantage of using these numbers to offer shorter odds in the event that the stats show the scoring to lean to one particular side.  In the past around 30% of ice hockey games end up with 5.

Games that go more than 5 are less frequent.  Where 4 or fewer goals are scored happens very seldom and these results are 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 2-1, 3-1.  If a game goes to 2-1 the losing team will not be able to score again as the result will be a push and maybe a loss.  Bettors should avoid betting totals if the game is lined at 5.

Keeping Track of Bets

Tracking every wager is a good way to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each bet.

Bettors should also keep track of how a team scores, the number of goals allowed and the different scenarios so that when teams are having a difficult game bettors will not be confused by the lines which do not seem correct.