The Goal Line bet, perhaps more commonly known as the Over/Under market in football betting, is betting on the number of goals to be scored in a match. Another name that is alternatively used for this, is Totals.

Goal Sport Betting

Goal Line Betting Goal line betting is wagering on the total number of goals that you think will be scored in a soccer match or other sporting event. Goal line betting is also commonly referred to as over/under or totals betting. Much like the Under 3.5 Goals variation, this goal line is the middle child of Goal Line betting. It’s inherently doomed to very short odds because most matches end with more than 1 goal. Good opportunities are even harder to pinpoint, especially because few games are priced for Over 1.5 in the first place. Colour codes on this channel page: C band: Ku band SD/clear: SD/encrypted: HD/clear: HD/encrypted.

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What is a Goal-line bet?

A Goal Line bet means that you make a prediction about the number of goals that are going to be scored in a match. These will be presented normally with half goal options, such as Over 1.5 Goals or Over 2.5 Goals. You will find along with an outright Goal Line market, a 1st Half Goal Line market as well, which is the same thing except only the tally of goals at the half time break counts.

How does a Goal-line bet work?

Probably the first questions that will come up is “Why are the options presented as 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and so on?” and similarly “What’s the purpose of those half goals, as no-one scores half of a goal in a game?.”

That is the whole point. The half goal in the options is simply to avoid the bet going to a ‘push’. A push is where a bet is neither won or lost. For example, if the option in the Goal Line market was just Over 3 and there were three goals exactly scored in the match, the bet neither wins or loses. With the half goal included, the bet will either win or lose.

Under or Over 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 Goals explained

7slots v2 rta. So if you are looking at a bet which is Over 2.5 Goals, what is needed is for a minimum of three goals to be scored in the fixture. It doesn’t matter if there are more, but if there’s less then the bet will lose.

Similarly, if you had backed Under 2.5 Goals, you would need the match to produce no more than two goals. When it comes to goal line betting it doesn’t matter which team scores the goal, and it doesn’t matter what the outcome of the match is in terms of who wins or not, it’s simply focusing on the goals scored in the game only.

0 Goals1 Goals2 Goals3 Goals
Under 0.5WinLoseLoseLose
Under 1.5WinWinLoseLose
Under 2.5WinWinWinLose
Over 0.5LoseWinWinWin
Over 1.5LoseLoseWinWin
Over 2.5LoseLoseLoseWin

Asian Goal Line explained

Asian Goal Lines introduce something extra. They bring in quarter goals along with half goals and whole goals. Note that this is different from Asian Handicap betting as the match result comes into play there. For Asian Goal Lines, it is looking only at the number of goals produced in a match.

Any Asian goal line bet with a quarter goal means that essentially you are playing two bets. Let’s look at an Asian Goal Line Under 1.75 goals which means that you have two selections in the bet of Under 1.5 Goals and Under 2 Goals. So the quarter goal used here at 1.75 is the midway point between those two options.

Let’s compare the Under 1.5 and Under 2 Goals individually:

Under 1.5Goals in the matchBet Result
0Win
1Win
2 or moreLose
Under 2Goals in the matchBet Result
0Win
1Win
2Refund
3 or moreLose

Why a refund if two goals are scored on an Under 2 Goals bet? Any matched number in an Asian Goal Line, gives a refund. For example if you have taken Over 1 goals and there has been exactly one goal scored, the bet is a push and you get your stake back. If you took Under 3 Goals and exactly three goals are scored, that’s a push and a stake refund.

Now half way between Under 1.5 and Under 2.5 you have 1.75 which combines the two bets. Note for quarter goal bets, half of your stake goes to each portion of the bet (known as a Split Bet).

Under 1.75Goals in the matchBet Result
0Win
1Win
2Half Loss
3 or moreLose

Why a Half Loss for two goals scored? That is because you are playing Under 1.5 goals AND Under 2 goals in one bet. So if two goals are scored in the game, it causes the Under 1.5 Goals bet to lose, but the Under 2 Goals gives a refund for two goals scored. So in this scenario, you would get half of your stake back from the Split Bet.

Alternative Goal Line meaning

Alternative Goal Line is just another name for Asian Goal Lines.

Winning example of a Goal-line bet in Football

Going back to the regular Over/Under market for an example. There is a match between Southampton and West Ham. You don’t expect many goals to crop up in the game, so you back under 2.5 goals.

The game ends in a 1-1 stalemate, but that does not matter. The total goals in the game was less than 2.5, so your bet wins.

Losing example of a Goal-line bet in Football

In our example match of Southampton v West Ham, let’s suppose that the option backed was Over 3.5 Goals because both teams are scoring well at the moment. The game, turns out to be a good contest with West Ham taking a 2-1 win. That result isn’t important for your Goal Line bet, the fact that there was only three goals in the game, is. It means that the forecast that the game would go above 3.5 goals was incorrect. The bet loses.

Goal Line markets

Why goal line markets are popular, especially the normal Over/Under market for football matches is that it is a simple 50/50 chance of getting the prediction right. It’s a simple pick and it’s not a market that often needs a big deep dive into stats to figure out.

The thing with these 50/50 type markets is that you aren’t going to get super wonderful odds unless you back something unpredictable to happen like under 0.5 goals or over 4.5 goals. But these are nice bets to pull together into multiples and accas.

Goal Line strategy

Stats help tremendously with Goal-line strategy. That is because it is so easy to see what team is scoring (or not scoring) within their current form. You can just look at a league, say pick out Aston Villa in a home game and see how many of their matches for the season on home soil have either gone over or under 2.5 goals for example. Those are basic stats.

You will easily spot the teams who have consistently racked up more higher-scoring games than other teams in the same division. You can base your simple Goal Line bet strategy off of that. It is common for league to have approximately three-quarters of matches for the season go over 1.5 goals, approximately half of all matches for the season go over 2.5 goals, and maybe a around a quarter going up into over 3.5 goals.

Different leagues will vary but it’s a general rule of thumb. What that will tell you is that the frequency of high scoring games (at least four goals) doesn’t happen anywhere near as much as games producing at least two, or at least three goals.

How to place a Goal-line bet on Bet365?

Because the standard average for a regular Goal Line bet on a football match is Under/Over 2.5 Goals, that is what odds you will be presented for when you look at a match at Bet365. That’s sort of the default setting for the bet if you like. If you want to take a different option, say over 3.5 goals, then you have to look at the Alternative Total Goals Market (which, slightly confusingly is not the same as the Alternative Goal Line market).

Just below the Goal Line market, you will see the Alternative Goal Line market which can be expanded. This is where the aforementioned Asian Goal Line (aka Alternative Goal Line) options are. Another way to get to them is at the top menu for a given match, you will see Asian Lines which presents the markets like Goal Line, 1st Half Goal Line and the Alternative Goal Line.

Contents

How to Bet on Hockey

Hockey betting in the United States is far from the most popular sport in the land, but ever since the gambling capital of the country – Las Vegas – got a team in, the Golden Knights, in 2017, interest in hockey betting markets has picked up.

Betting on hockey is similar in concept to that of baseball lines, as hockey is predominantly a money line based sport with standardized point spread prices of -1.5 goals – like baseball is with -1.5 runs. Hockey betting odds are offered at every sportsbook, so finding the game you like is never tough, and if money lines aren't your thing, over-under totals in hockey are offered on every game as well, among other wagering potential.

Understanding Hockey Odds

As a money line based sport with so many similarities to baseball betting, understanding hockey odds follows a similar format. For example, you can have a game between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins where the Penguins would be listed as a -165 favorite on the money line. That means that a bettor would have to put up $165 to win $100 if they were to back Pittsburgh, and the total for that game would be somewhere in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 goals.

One key difference from baseball betting does focus on the point spread – otherwise known as the “puck line” in hockey odds – as the -1.5 number still offers juicy plus-money odds if it connects. That same Pittsburgh line might be +150 range on the -1.5 puck line, but the key difference comes with a fundamental strategical way in which hockey is played. A team that's losing a game late in the 3rd period will pull their goalie at some point with a minute or two left, giving the team that's leading an easy shot at adding another goal. That suggests that puck line bets do hit more often then run line bets do in baseball as it's not like the fielders come off the field in baseball late in games. Something to definitely consider when you are learning how to understand all the nuances with hockey odds.

NHL Future Wagers

Future wagers in NHL betting exist in a similar format to that of other professional sports offered at sportsbooks, as outcomes like who will win it all, who will win their division/conference, and season point totals are offered for hockey. Season point total wagers are essentially what other sports would classify as season wins – over-under props – but with the point system in the standings for hockey being a little different, a point-based system is just an all around better way to do things on the ice.

Stanley Cup futures odds are the ones that are posted the earliest leading up to an upcoming season, and the ones that are discussed frequently. However, with hockey being a sport where numerous upsets happen each year during a playoff campaign, and random luck being more of a factor in the sport then in other professional sports, staying away from the favored teams in the futures market isn't necessarily a bad idea in hockey. It's not like the favorites don't win, but considering the team that wins the President's Trophy – awarded to the team that finishes the regular season with the most points in the league, ie the best team – eight times in a 33-year existence, and only twice from 2002-03 through 2018-19, going a bit down the odds board in the futures market can be lucrative.

How to Bet the Stanley Cup Final

Stanley Cup Finals betting is one where bettors can treat the final series like that of the World Series or NBA Finals whereas they can look towards taking action on the series price – which team will hoist the trophy – and/or a game-by-game approach too. Stanley Cup Finals odds for the series price will change after each game is completed, so bettors should keep that in mind as well should their desired team fall short in Game 1 of the series. More of an underdog price on said team will be posted then, but there is always the fear of said team winning Game 1 and missing out on the pre-series line if you are to wait. It's a delicate balance that gets easier with experience.

Betting

NHL playoff odds throughout the spring are ones that offer plenty of wagering opportunities, and ones that culminate in the Stanley Cup Final line getting posted. Bettors with future wagers still live at that point have a question about “hedging or not” at that point – hedging would be to take the St Louis Blues to win the Finals when a bettor already has a previously placed bet on their opponent in the Finals – to assure themselves profit, but again, that's another situation that can be more easily addressed with betting experience.

How to Bet the NHL Playoffs

Goal Sport Betting App

Betting the NHL playoffs can be done on a game-by-game or series price basis, and there are even prop wagers related to which team will win in how many games, and how many games a series will have.

With a full season of regular season data already in the stable by the time the NHL betting lines are released for the playoffs, bettors have to be aware that these numbers that the oddsmakers put out for their hockey betting lines during the postseason are theoretically as sharp as they've been all year. Sure, there are still things like luck and bounces to consider that seemingly derail at least one of the NHL's best teams early on in the playoffs, but NHL hockey odds during the playoffs need to be dissected thoroughly if success is to be had.

And for those bettors that live for the underdogs pulling off upsets, going for bigger scores on the hockey point spreads in the alternative lines and other variations of hockey odds that are offered during that time of year can prove to be bankroll boosters as well. Below are some of the best betting sites to begin your NHL betting career.

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Popular Hockey Wagers

Given that it is the least bet North American professional sports league in the general US betting market, NHL odds tend to have limited popularity outside of the normal money line and total wagers. Puck lines are an extension of money lines in theory, so that's another popular betting option, but in a general sense, hockey bettors prefer to stick the staples of who will win the game (money lines) and how many total goals will be scored (totals) with their wagers on a given night in the NHL schedule.

NHL Money Line

Exactly as it sounds as it's a wager on who a NHL bettor believes will win the game outright. Money line prices are listed in the normal odds range that they are in any other sport where you'll see a team listed as a -140 favorite going up against a team that's listed as a +120 underdog. No spreads are needed to be worried about here as you just want to be backing the team that gets the win in the regular sense of the word.

Goal Sport Betting Fixtures

NHL Over-Under

For years hockey totals were consistently released as a 5.5 number, but as scoring increased league-wide in the latter half of the 2010's, totals numbers have found a more consistent home at 6 and 6.5 for games on a nightly basis. All that means is whether or not you believed the combined score between the two teams will be over or under the posted total, it's as simple as that. For example, a game between Washington and Philadelphia that finishes 4-3 would cash an 'over' ticket on a total of 6.5, while a final score of 4-2 would see 'under' bettors smiling.

NHL Puck Line

The puck line has already been mentioned here, as it's a point spread for a hockey game that is almost always marked as a +/- 1.5 for the game. All that means is whether or not you believe the favorite on the money line will win the game by two goals or more (-1.5), or if the underdog will keep it a one-goal contest or even potentially win (+1.5). With the way goalies get pulled late in games for teams trailing, puck line bets can be a bit tricky to have consistency with – especially if you are backing the underdog at +1.5 – but at the same time, the underdog price (plus money) that's offered on the favorite to win by 2+ goals can be very rewarding.

NHL Grand Salami

The Grand Salami in hockey wagering is really simple and it's a great way to have action on every single game on a given night. Simply put, the “salami” is an over-under number posted on the total goals scored in all the games for a particular day. These numbers are based on how many games are being played that day and what the individual totals are for those contests. On a night where you've got six NHL games going all with individual totals of 6.5, the Grand Salami number would be somewhere around 40 total goals (6.5 X6 is 39).

2020 Grand Salami Betting Results

  • April

Bettors decide whether or not to go over or under that number and individual over-under results for those games don't matter, just the total number of goals scored across the league.

How do I Bet Hockey Parlays

Hockey parlays are the same as parlays in any other sport, as bettors combine at least two selections on the money line, total, puck line, or any combination of that and potentially other wagers, to try and score on a bigger payout. Perhaps there are two huge favorites listed at -265 or higher on the money line and bettors who are confident those particular teams will win but don't want to risk nearly $265 to win just $100 can parlay the two options together to get a price something much closer to even money to mitigate their risk or dollar value put up.

Again, all selections within a parlay have to be graded as winners (or pushes) for a parlay to be considered a winner – ones with pushes are graded at a reduced price as if that game wasn't even there – and that's the trade off with using this form of a wager.

What are NHL Prop Bets

Proposition bets in hockey can include a wide range of topics, from team results in a particular game/season to individual player statistical results in a specific game. For instance, every game will have individual prop bets available for the bigger names on the teams involved for things like goals scored, assists earned, points earned, and even combination bets of statistical categories like that.

Fantasy players that live and die by these individual statistical outputs with their fantasy teams each day/week will likely naturally gravitate towards these plays, but they can be a tough nut to crack long term given the randomness that the game of hockey brings overall.

NHL Live Betting and In-Game Wagering

In-game wagering for hockey is another betting avenue that's gained plenty of traffic in recent years and rightfully so. More and more live betting options are being offered on a wider scale at sportsbooks all across the country no matter what shop you use, and hockey betting is no different. From the first game of the season to the NHL playoffs, and all the way through the Stanley Cup Finals, in-game wagering can be an important tool in the tool box of a hockey bettor.

Goal Sport News Football

All sorts of in-game odds are offered for pretty much any particular hockey game, so if it's a Saturday Night with the featured Hockey Night in Canada games on, or those novelty outdoor games like the Winter Classic or Stadium Series rivalry games, there is never a shortage of live betting opportunities for hockey bettors to sink there teeth into. Heck, with the explosion of in-game wagering in the industry on the whole, even big time amateur hockey events like the Frozen Four or IIHF World Junior Championships offer plenty of in-game betting opportunities for hockey fans and bettors alike.

NHL Period Betting

Breaking down an individual hockey game through period betting is another betting avenue in the hockey marketplace that has gained plenty of traction in recent years, especially with the 1st period betting odds on the money line and total getting more and more time devoted to content pieces.

Gal Sport Betting

All those are are individual money line prices for the 1st period and the first period only, with over-under total numbers for the opening 20 minutes of play typically being set at 1.5 goals. If you believe a particular team is in a great spot to get off to a fast start, looking at backing them on the 1st period ML and/or 'over' 1.5 1st period goals is another way to diversify your portfolio on a particular game too.