How to use live hockey betting strategies

Hockey is a dynamic and therefore popular game — not only among casual fans but also among bettors. NHL, KHL, World Championship, and Olympic Games matches are known for their intensity and pace. It’s not uncommon for clear underdogs to put up a serious fight against favorites — and even if they don’t snatch a hard-fought win, they often finish with a narrow margin or push the game into overtime.

Unexpected turns during matches allow for significant wins on risky bets. However, to achieve consistent long-term profit, we recommend sticking to proven Live betting strategies for hockey matches.

NO BETTING STRATEGY GUARANTEES 100% PROFIT!

Shchukin’s Strategy

This strategy is based on finding arbitrage opportunities (“forks”) for identical bets at different bookmakers. It’s recommended to look for forks on the market “Who will score the next goal?”. Once such odds are found, two opposite bets are placed — “Team 1 to score” and “Team 2 to score.” The best time to look for such forks is during intermissions before the second and third periods, since, firstly, the bettor will have more time to search, and secondly, the odds will remain stable during the pause.

Ideally, due to the odds difference, Shchukin’s strategy can be considered risk-free. However, there are three important caveats:

It’s not possible to find a fork in every match.
The difference in odds may not cover the bookmaker’s margin. As a result, even with a win, you’ll still end up at a loss.
Even with a positive fork, the profit will be minimal — only a few percent of the stake.

There’s always the chance of a third outcome — neither team scores — and both bets lose. Therefore, in our opinion, the effectiveness of Shchukin’s strategy is somewhat exaggerated.

Total Over with Martingale

It’s extremely rare for a hockey game to end without any goals scored. Therefore, in the Line, you can place a TO 1.5 bet for the first period.
However, sometimes no goals are scored in the first period — as, for example, in the NHL match between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. In that case, the TO 1.5 (first period) bet loses. From here, you have three options:

Classic Martingale with minimal risk. Bet on TO 1.5 (both teams to score over two goals combined) at odds of 1.12. This option requires a large bankroll. For example, to recover a lost 1000 ₽, you need to place a bet of at least 8335 ₽. This allows you to break even: 8335×1.12=9335 ₽.
Standard Martingale system. Choose a bet with odds around 2.0, e.g., TO 3.5 (odds 2.07), and stake 2000 ₽. If it wins, you record a profit and reduce the next bet back to 1000 ₽. If it loses, you double the next bet to 4000 ₽ on another 2.0 market.
Martingale on accumulators. Select several low-risk bets with odds around 1.5 and combine them into an accumulator. For example, two double chance 1X bets, a handicap 0 for the first team, and individual total 1st team TO 1.5. The accumulator wins if Pittsburgh wins with two or more goals scored. Your payout will be 1000 ₽ × 1.36 × 1.68 × 1.65 = 3769.92 ₽.

We strongly advise fixing losses in time. If Martingale losses exceed 50–60% of your bankroll, stop and take a break from betting for the day. It’s not your day.

Bet on the Next Goal

This strategy is recommended for matches between roughly equal opponents. For example, in the 3HL League match between Avengers and Agents, the odds for which team would score the next goal were completely identical. In matches with a clear favorite, Live markets for the next goal may not be available at all due to the obvious outcome.

Period Total Strategy

It’s rare for KHL and NHL periods to end without at least one goal scored. For example, in the NHL match between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning, with a first-period score of 1:0, the following second-period total odds were offered:

Individual total 1st – TO 1.5 – 3.7 and TU 1.5 – 1.28;
Individual total 2nd – TO 1.5 – 2.59 and TU 1.5 – 1.5;
Overall total – from TO 0.5 – 1.06 to TO 2.5 – 2.47 and from TU 0.5 – 7.89 to TU 2.5 – 1.54.

At that time, Tampa Bay Lightning ranked third in the Eastern Conference, and Nashville Predators ranked fifth in the Western Conference. Tampa Bay scored 172 goals in 50 matches (3.44 per game), while Nashville scored 159 in 52 matches (3.06 per game).

Since the first period ended 1:0 in favor of the hosts, the match was tight. Nevertheless, it’s reasonable to expect that at least one team will score in the second period. Thus, you could place three bets:

TO 1.5 – odds 1.44;
Individual total 1st TO 1.5 – odds 3.7;
Individual total 2nd TO 1.5 – odds 2.59.

All three bets assume two goals scored in the second period (by one or both teams). If no goals or only one goal is scored, all three bets lose. But risk-free strategies simply don’t exist.

To balance payouts across all three bets, we recommend linking the first bet in an accumulator with any other bet at odds of 2.08 or higher, and the third bet with another bet at odds of 1.15. In this case, if any one of the three bets wins, your combined payout will exceed odds of 3.0 — allowing you not only to recover your stake but also make a profit.

Anti-Total Strategy

This approach is used in matches where two goals are scored in the first period. In such cases, the odds for TU 4.5 increase sharply. If the first two goals are scored very quickly or close together, the TU 4.5 odds may double or even triple.

There are three variations of the anti-total strategy:

Favorite vs. underdog game. The favorite’s next match is against a bottom-table team. A blowout is likely, as the favorite won’t conserve energy. The probability of losing the bet is quite high.
Favorite vs. underdog game. The favorite’s next match is against a top-table team. In this case, the favorite is likely to conserve energy after securing a comfortable lead and not push for a rout. The probability of winning the bet is above average.
Match between evenly matched opponents. Both teams’ next games are against lower-ranked opponents. Both are likely to play at full strength for the win.

Evenly matched teams may be leaders of the Eastern and Western Conferences or mid-table teams. Mid-tier clubs can really put up a fight, ending matches with high scores. Favorites usually have strong attacks and solid defenses; underdogs may have decent defense but very weak offense. Therefore, favorites’ games will likely end with low scores due to strong defenses, while underdogs’ low scores result from weak attacks.

For example, the NHL match (February 28, 2022) between the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers ended 2:1. Carolina was the Eastern Conference leader, and Edmonton was mid-table in the West (9th place). Carolina was the clear favorite, which was confirmed by two early goals in the first period. After the second goal, the TU 4.5 odds increased sharply as a high-scoring win seemed likely. For the TU 4.5 bet to lose, Carolina only needed to score once in each of the remaining periods, and Edmonton at least once. However, after scoring the second goal, Carolina slowed the game, and Edmonton managed only one goal in the second period. As a result, the TU 4.5 bet won at a much better price than the initial Line odds.