NHL Over/Under Lines: It’s Betting Time!
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the arena floor during the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The NHL season is upon us and while teams are starting to hit the ice for training camps, yours truly has been scouring various reputable gambling sites for betting odds. And as luck would have it, Bovada Sportsbook just released its “Over/Under” lines for total points for each team this season (all lines can be seen here). If you check the site daily, there’s a good chance you’ll notice the lines moving, an event that occurred already once on Tuesday which we’ll touch on in the upcoming pages.
Some of you may be asking: “what are these ‘Over/Under’ lines?” Well, the sportsbook, in this case Bovada, sets a point total for each team that the bettor can either take the over (meaning they’ll finish with more points than the line) or the under (less points than the line). Let’s look at the Anaheim Ducks as an example. Bovada has their Over/Under line set at 105 1/2 points. So if you think the Ducks will struggle this year and finish with 105 points or less, you bet the under. If you’re high on the Ducks this year and think they’ll obtain more than 105 points, you take the over.
The other item to take note of is the betting odds, which are represented by either a “+” or a “-” followed by a number. This is the amount you have to bet to win $100. If the odds are a “+”, you are risking less than $100 to win $100. If it’s a “-“, you are betting more than $100 to win a $100 wager. For example if the odds are -125, you must risk $125 for the chance to win $100. If the odds are +400, you risk $25 to win $100 (400/100= 25). Got it? Good. For these Over/Under lines, most odds are -115 meaning you will have to risk $115 to win a wager of $100.
On the following pages I will look at some teams’ lines that I believe represent good value and whether to bet the over or under for the upcoming NHL season. The odds are constantly changing, so I will use the odds as of Wednesday evening, September 10th, for my review.
Finally, this is all for fun and in no way am I suggesting my word here is gold and to bet the mortgage on what I say. Of course if you have a few extra sheckles hanging around that you want to bet, by all means do it (within reason). And if any of my advice brings you good fortune, remember I only accept cash.