Hockey World Blog will be taking a trip to Las Vegas and asks for our readership’s help. Well, 1/4 of HWB that is.
This Saturday I will be in Vegas and plan on placing some wagers on the games. Although I feel I have an idea of who’s hot and who’s not, it is always nice to get a few other opinions.
First, understanding how to bet. I plan to bet on the moneyline, those of which are not determined. The best way to explain a moneyline is to give an example. Last night’s game between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators had a moneyline of Bruins -190 and Senators +165. This is saying that the Bruins are favored in the matchup. If you are to bet $190 on the Bruins, you will win $100. On the flip side, if you are to bet $100 on the Senators, you will win $165.
Further complexing the moneyline, you are able to parlay your bet. A parlay is a multiple-team bet in which you pick anywhere from 2-10 games and you need to hit on every one of them in order for the total bet to be a success. The payouts for these types of bets escalate based on the number of individual games you add, where a two-team parlay pays out around 2.5-to-1 and a 10-teamer hits at about 300-to-1. For example, say a bettor likes the Edmonton Oilers +160 and the Florida Panthers -130. If the bettor places a $10 wager, they essentially would have a $10 bet on the Oilers +160, which will return $26 should the Oilers win, and then would have $26 on the Panthers -130. Should the Panthers also win, the bettor has turned a $10 wager into $46. Adding a little more math to the mix, to figure out winnings, it is best to turn the odds into decimals. To do this, for positive odds such as +160, you would take 160/100 to get 1.6. Multiply 1.6 by your bet amount ($10) to win $16 on top of your bet of $10 to come up with the $26. If the odds are negative, such as -130, you would take 100/130 to equal .77. Multiple .77 by the $26 to win $20, add the $26 bet and you now have your $46.
OK, tough stuff is out of the way. The fact is the moneylines have yet to be set for Saturday’s games so I am unable to truthfully figure out any winnings on bets placed. I do however need to know what our readers think of the matchups. Out of the games listed below for Saturday, let me know what 3 games you would pick for individual moneylines. Also, pick one parlay of 3 teams. The games are as follows:
Boston @ Philadelphia
Vancouver @ Toronto
New Jersey @ Montreal
Buffalo @ Pittsburgh
Anaheim @ Winnipeg
Los Angeles @ Detroit
Tampa Bay @ Columbus
St. Louis @ Nashville
NY Islanders @ Minnesota
NY Rangers @ Phoenix
Washington @ Colorado
Edmonton @ San Jose
Since the lines aren’t decide its tough to pick the best lines. I will pick the wins.
Detroit over Los Angles. Detroit is hot as it gets and Los Angles can’t get much colder.
Winnipeg over Anaheim. I know, looks like a snooze fest until you look at the fact that Anaheim is coming in off a game in Chicago the previous night. Oh and news flash Anaheim still blows.
Vancouver over Toronto. Yeah they should usually win but like the previous match up. Toronto is coming off a back to back playing the previous night in Boston.
Advice: Parlay is a sucker bet. With the games all going on at the same time you can’t watch and enjoy them all anyways so just bet the one you have the best opportunity to cash in on. Or better yet, your in Vegas just go to the strip clubs.
Who picked 3 solid wins. This guy. Too bad I couldn’t cash in on them.