Hockey is by far the fastest sport in the planet. In the NHL, there are 31 franchises that all play a regular season of 82 games. That’s a lot of games in the span of few months. On top of that, the best teams of the league will compete on the playoffs, getting the total amount of played games over 100 (for the team who wins the Stanley Cup). When playing 100 games within few months, it’s obvious that there are going to be some ups and downs with even the top teams. These are the kind of hiccups where you might find yourself profiting when betting against the top teams. Better yet, you might be able to predict the scoring amounts better (over / under goals) and even up your own variances.
Over / Under
The basic line of over / under -bets is 5.5 goals. This means that if the match ends up with the total score of over / under 5.5 goals, you’re going to win your bet. The key to being successful with totals (bet type referring to over / under) is to understand what each team is going through and how their coaching staff is reacting to it. If you see a team struggling against teams that uses the 1-3-1 traps, it’s more than likely this game might end up being under 5.5 goals. Why you may ask? Well if you’re having difficulties playing against 1-3-1 trap, you’re not going to score that many goals and you’re probably trying to hold onto the puck as long as you can. Try to see these kind of patterns before placing your bets.
Analyze the special teams
When comparing two similar teams (stats, points, etc.), you should be focusing to find out how they are playing with their special teams. Penalty kill and power play are the two most important factors you should consider analyzing, before placing any bets. When two similar teams are playing each other, it’s either special teams or goaltending that usually gives the another team some advantage. If you’re finding out that the league’s worst power play is playing against the best penalty kill, it’s most likely that this will increase the chances of winning the game for the team with the good PK.
Always use bonuses
This isn’t necessarily a tip how to beat the system, but it’s pretty obvious regardless. If you’re using your bonuses, you’re maximizing your expected winnings, given that you of course choose to correct bets that actually brings you profit. If you’re always trying to place bets with bonuses, you’re able to play with higher stakes. Higher stakes = bigger wins and less risk.
The best way to redeem sportsbook bonuses is of course browsing through different operators and finding out what they are offering.