Moneyline Puck Line
NHL Puck Line – The puck line is the closest thing to a spread in NHL betting. When looking at the puck line, the favorite will be -1.5 goals and the underdog will be +1.5 goals. Unlike NHL moneylines, the favorite has to win by two or more goals to cover a puck line, while any other outcome results in a cover for the underdog. — Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves to notch his first career shutout for the Minnesota Wild in a 2-0 victory over Vegas on Monday night to stop the NHL-leading Golden Knights' six-game winning streak.
Whether you’re looking for spreads, totals, moneylines, props, or championship and player-based futures, FOX Bet is the place to be for online football, basketball, baseball and hockey betting.
FOX Bet allows bettors to get in on the action all year long, offering a wide range of wagering options on every major sports league. An abundance of statistics and betting trends are available at your fingertips to help you make well-informed and confident bets.
There are dozens of different wagers you can make prior to the start of games. They include (but are not necessarily limited to):
- a straight-up winner (the moneyline)
- a side to win against a spread/run line/puck line
- over or under the total number of points/runs/goals that will be scored in the game (by both teams or by either team)
- a side to win against a partial-game (e.g. halftime, period, five-inning) spread/line
- any one of a number of game-related props.
A point spread (often referred to as a “run line” in baseball and a “puck line” in hockey) represents a number set by oddsmakers to provide a numerical advantage or disadvantage based on the margin of victory or defeat for a given team. The team that is considered the “favorite” (noted with a “-” sign preceding the number) would need to win the game by a certain number of points/runs/goals while the team that is considered the “underdog” (noted with a “+” sign preceding the number) is given a margin by which the team can lose the game but still “cover” the point spread.
To use an example, if the line is Team A (-1.5) vs. Team B (+1.5): a winning against-the-spread wager on Team A would require them to win by 2 or more. Team B is the winning wager in this scenario if they either win outright or lose the game by 1.
FOX Bet also offers prop (short for “proposition”) bets, which are wagers on specific events within each game. Examples of prop bets that can be offered include (but are certainly not limited to):
- which player will score the game’s first or last touchdown, point, goal or run
- whether a player will accumulate more or fewer than a set number of a particular stat
- which player will lead the game in a particular stat
- whether a game will go into overtime or extra innings
Live betting, which is sometimes referred to as in-game betting, refers to the ability to wager on many of the same types of wagers summarized above after a game has already begun. All of the same fundamentals apply, but with odds, lines and spreads constantly being updated in response to how a game is unfolding.
Future bets are offered for bettors wishing to take a longer view. Odds are updated and available throughout a season in a wide range of categories. Examples of future bets include (but are not limited to):
- which team will win a particular division or conference
- which team will reach and/or win the championship series or game
- which player(s) will win such end-of-year honors such as MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc.
- which player(s) will lead the league in a particular stat at season’s end
Regardless of which sports you follow, FOX Bet lets you get in on the action all year long.
Understanding the different types of betting options is crucial when you’re getting a start as a first-time sports bettor.
The Point Spread: Betting the spread
For those new to sports betting, the point spread is the simplest, most straightforward approach to placing wagers.
Sports books set a predetermined margin of points on a game and a team must win – or not lose – by that set number. That’s why you’ll often hear people say the team won, but they “didn’t cover the spread” so their bet still came up short.
It’s not a matter of a team winning or losing like in a moneyline bet.
Moneyline Puck Line Betting
For a favorite: The favorite must win by more than the point spread.For an underdog: The underdog must outright win OR lose by fewer than the point spread.Sports books aren’t in the business of predicting who will win or lose games. Their goal is setting a pre-game point spread with the intention to generate an equal amount of betting action/volume on both sides of the ledger – as much total money being bet on the favorite as on the underdog.
The vast majority of point spread wagers are made on football and basketball because of the proliferation of points that are scored in comparison to sports like baseball and hockey, where 1-0 or 2-1 games aren’t that out of the question or out of the norm. There’s one every night.
For example, the New England Patriots are playing the New York Jets and New England is a 9½-point favorite. Bettors typically have to spend $110 or so to win $100 with sports books, known as “the house edge/advantage.” With a point spread bet, simply having a team win the game isn’t the key. The critical factor to betting a point spread is how much a team wins or loses by. If a wager is placed on New England – “laying” the 9½ points – the Patriots need to win the game by 10 or more points for that bet to pay off. If New England wins 28-20, those betting on the Jets plus 9½ points (points added to their final total) win the bet.
The same general rules apply for basketball and are quite easy to follow because of the inherent simplicity of the bet. When it comes to betting sports like baseball and hockey, the standard bets are made on the “money line” – an established number for both teams to win the game outright.
What makes point spread bets attractive are the fluid nature of each game – it’s a reality show that, when done right, is inexplicable. Games change on one play and momentum is a thing. But, when it comes to point spread betting, you know where you stand at every moment.
Moneyline Vs Puck Line
For those just starting out, the simplest form of gambling is betting the spread because it’s the easiest to explain and understand, which explains why it is the most popular form of sports wagering.