Rules to Live By

Dipping your toe in the water when it comes to sports gambling can be fun! It makes watching games more entertaining. I don't cheer for any NFL team, but every Sunday I've got RedZone because I'm tracking various bets I've made. It brings more people to the sport, which hockey needs. It's important to set some boundaries when you're starting out. It is equally important to respect and maintain those boundaries as you go along. 

None of the stuff you see on betting sites or twitter is financial advice. It should not be taken as such. It's okay to look at someone's picks online and take them. However, it is your responsibility to research the bets on your own through various websites and available stats. Think of it as a guide to where you should do your research. It cuts down on the time you need to spend researching, but you should not blindly take bets. At the end of the day, you are responsible for the bets you take. 

Parlays usually destroy accounts. The quickest way to blow your betting account is on long shot parlays. There is a reason the odds are as high as they are. People don't win. If you want to be profitable on a long term basis, straight bets is the way to go. One or two parlays per day with a quarter unit aren't going to kill an account, but it isn't a strategy anyone should be employing. 

Betting the Puck Lines at negative odds on a regular basis is not a winning strategy. You are depending on a team to win by 2+ and hockey is too random to do that routinely. The Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks could routinely be found as Puck Line dogs last season. If you played negative odds on the Puck Line against Arizona at home, you would be out a lot of money. With empty nets, goal line scrambles and lack of penalties in the dying minutes, a puck line can flip with a bad bounce. Taking juice on the Puck Line is rarely profitable. 

Hockey is a randomized sport – watch luck vs. skill on Youtube. There is a reason betting lines are much closer than any other sport. It is hard to predict. The star players don't handle the puck nearly as often as basketball players handle the ball. There isn't as much scoring as there is in baseball or football. One player does not impact the outcome of a game the same way a star point guard or quarterback does. It's important to know that a lot of hockey is attributed to luck and the betting lines reflect that.

In the NHL, there will be more underdog odds bets with value than favourites. If you win 40% of dog bets, and 60% of favourite bets – you’ll make more on the dogs. Due to the randomness of hockey, finding edges on dogs is key. Arizona made a lot of people money last season because they were better than the lines gave them credit for. 

This is GAMBLING. There will be losses and wins, cold streaks and hot streaks. Even the best bettors go through them. This is not the stock market where you can read levels, have dark pools and flow. Things like referees, bounces and luck can change the outcome of a bet. Winning 60% of your bets makes you a very good bettor. 

Lastly, and most importantly, DO NOT CHASE! Don’t do it. I’ve seen way too many people override their boundaries chasing losses and it rarely goes their way. It is better to take a step back, focus on where you're winning and losing, and reset. 

Being in a good headspace is important, as you are more likely to make poor decisions when you're in a poor headspace. There is no shame is taking a break to re-evaluate. I do that after a big night of winning or losing. Staying level-headed has made me a better bettor. You don't get too high or too low, and eventually, you get to a spot where a win or loss does not impact your emotions.