NHL Period Betting Guide

The vast majority of punters will place a bet on a full ice hockey game when they are betting, whether this is on a team to win, a handicap line, the total goals or something else. However, with the rise of in-play betting both overall and in with ice hockey, we are seeing a whole new type of betting open up for punters who don’t want to bet on a full game. 

Whether this is betting on the first period before the game begins or betting on the second or third period in play, there are many different ways in which you can get involved and bet on a market that is about something much shorter than the entire game. 

If you want to bet on an individual period before the game begins then you are only able to do this on the first period. You will find the first period betting markets up and available for you in the list of betting markets for the entire game. 

Pre match bet will include markets such as who will win the period, who will score first in the period, how many goals will there be in the period and much more. This will give you a feel of what to expect from the bookmaker when the game goes in play as you can expect to see these markets replicated for the second and third periods of the game as it turns in play. 

Although it is worth checking when the game goes in play and the markets appear, you can usually expect to see the same markets available for the second and third period and you will find on the first period before the game. 

These markets are great if you want to split the game down, but they are also something you can use if you have some stats to hand. For example, do you have a team who start really fast playing against a team known for their slow stars? This would be the ideal market to bet on as you are not relying on the full game, just the period that the stats are pointing towards betting on. 

Another way of betting on the periods which some bookmakers offer is to bet on which period will have the most goals, or will goals be scored in each period. For example, in the first market, you can place a bet that the second period of the game will be the one with the most goals in it. 

While this is not splitting down the game into a smaller section, you are splitting it into three sections and betting on which one you think will come out on top. There will be stats out there that can help you and using the example above of fast and slow starters if you have two slow starters playing each other then betting on the third period to have the most goals may be the best way to go. If you have the opposite and have two fast starters going head to head then the first period having the most goals may be the best way to go with this type of bet. 

If you have stats that point to a particular part of the game having more goals in it then you can use those stats to place a bet like this. While this is not traditional period betting that involves just betting on one period like the other markets, if you have an angle that you can use to get in then it is always something that is worth exploring, especially if you have never used this betting market before and you are looking for a new way to bet. 

The whole reason why period betting has become so popular with NHL gamblers is because of in-play betting. This has opened up the chance to bet on the second and third periods individually, whereas you can only ever bet on the first period if you don’t use the in-play markets. 

The ways you can bet are identical to how you can bet on the first period, but the advantage that punters have here is that you can watch part of the game and then decide where you want to put your money on NHL live bet.

For example, if you think something will happen in the second period, the reason you think this is because of how the teams have played in the first period. If a team is winning 3-0 at the end of the first period, but the losing team has been unlucky and have shown signs of getting back into the game, you can back this team to win the second period. While you may think they will fight back, that will be tough from 3-0 down, whereas winning the second period is much easier and gives you a far better chance of having a winner. 

During the period breaks, you will see that the bookmakers update their NHL live betting markets to reflect the new period that is about to start, and these markets will remain in play during the period. This means you can either bet on the period before it starts based on what you have seen in the previous periods, or you can bet partway through the period based on what has happened so far. 

As ever, with any type of NHL live betting strategy, if there is a big incident that can affect the outcome of a game such as a goal, injury or powerplay then expect to see the odds change when this happens. The key to in play betting tips is not only backing winners but also jumping in at the right time to get the value. The difference between betting at the right and wrong time can be a lot of profit, which is one of the reasons why so many punters love the challenge that in-play betting brings them, and why they take part in it. 

If you interesting to get more NHL betting tips – read ice hockey betting guide.