5 Popular Hockey Betting Strategies in Canada
When you're betting on hockey, you want your picks to be winners.
Sports betting is unpredictable.
While there is no sure shot way to make sure your wagers are 100% successful there are some strategies you can use to help you tilt the odds in your favour.
Here are 5 popular hockey betting strategies that have stood the test of time.
Strategy 1 Try Arbitrage Betting
Arbitrage betting is a little complicated, and it won't often result in huge payouts, but it also helps to limit your losses. There are two main ways you can approach arbitrage betting -- either as a way to grind out small wins so they add up over time, or use bonuses and promotions sportsbooks offer to guarantee yourself a win.
The way arbitrage betting works is you need to place a bet on the opposite sides of the same game on multiple sportsbooks. For example, you would place a wager on Team A on the moneyline at one site and a wage on Team B on the moneyline at another site.
The goal is to take advantage of a discrepancy of odds to guarantee yourself a win, even if it's a small win. Not every game will qualify for this, as the odds have to present themselves at multiple sites that the wins on both ends would outweigh the losses on both ends.
Strategy 2 Take Advantage of Odds
An easier and more advisable thing to do for the long term is to simply take advantage of the odds that are offered. It's like arbitrage betting, in that you'll be shopping around for odds, but you'll only bet on one side of a game at one site instead of both sides at two different sites.
You always want to maximize your potential payout and minimize your potential losses when you're betting. The way to do this is by ensuring that you're getting the best odds possible at all times.
Luckily, Unibet Canada offers some of the best odds on hockey around. This makes it simple for you, in that you don't have to constantly search around sites to find where the best odds might be.
Strategy 3 Track Closing Line Value
To keep on top of whether you got what's known as a "good number" or not, you should track what the line and odds you got when you placed your bet were compared to what the final closing line was.
There are plenty of sites on the internet that will provide you with the consensus closing line of just about every bet possible. Take that consensus closing line and compare it to what the line and odds you got were.
If your line and odds are more favorable to the side you chose than the consensus closing line, then you did well to bet when you did. If not, then you know you acted too soon -- or too late.
Timing is a really big thing in betting on hockey. If you place your bet too soon, the line might move in your favor after the fact, and you could miss out on a better line or a bigger payday.
The reverse is also true. If you wait too long, you might miss out on a better line or a bigger payout if you didn't lock in the line you liked. Tracking the closing line value will help you see -- over a long period of time -- how well you have been at grabbing value with your bets.
Strategy 4 Use Corsi as a Base
There are so many advanced metrics that are used in hockey nowadays that it can be hard to understand what each of them are -- and if they have any value at all in betting. One of those is the Corsi.
It's advanced statistics that measures the differential in shot attempts between two teams while they're at even strength. In other words, it doesn't take into consideration any shots taken during a power play or penalty kill.
Corsi will track all shots that are taken -- including missed shots on goal, shots on goal and shot attempts that were blocked. This is tracked for both teams, and one teams Corsi Against will be subtracted from its Corsi For to get its Corsi net.
Corsi isn't the be-all, end-all in analysis for hockey betting. Ultimately, what it does show is which teams have a better possession of the puck and more chances at net. This can give you a clue as to which team might have an advantage over another.
Don't use Corsi as the ultimate determining factor in your betting choices. But, it is a good place to start as you dive into your analysis.
Strategy 5 Avoid Fading the Public
One old hockey betting strategy that used to work was fading the public. If the public was really heavy on one particular bet, you could simply bet the exact opposite outcome and win more times than not. The thinking was that the public was wrong more times than not, so fading them would result in winning outcomes over the long term.
With the proliferation of sports betting around the world, this isn’t a great idea anymore. So, this hockey betting strategy isn’t really something you should do; it's something you should not do.
In other words, don't worry about what the consensus "betting public" is doing. You can find out this information on the internet, but it doesn't have a lot of value when you're trying to make your own betting choices.
The "betting public" is actually the majority. As such, it's hard to gain an edge just by betting against this group of people -- since it's the majority.
The betting public is also getting a lot smarter, thanks to advanced statistics and information available online. So, don't simply fade the public. Do your own research and win some bets.
Now that you know about some of the most popular hockey betting strategies feel free to check out our other guides on: