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Every ice hockey bet you will ever place starts with the moneyline. It is the purest form of wagering in the sport — pick the team you think will win, place your stake, and collect if they do. No spreads, no goal totals, no exotic conditions. Just a winner and a loser. The ice hockey moneyline is the gateway market, and understanding it properly sets the foundation for everything else you will encounter on UK betting sites.
I have been analysing hockey betting markets for nine years, and the moneyline remains the market I return to most often. Not because it is simple — though it is — but because the simplicity strips away noise and forces you to answer the only question that matters: which team wins this game? With around 48% of UK adults participating in some form of gambling, many of those stepping into hockey betting for the first time will start right here, so getting this right matters.
This guide walks you through reading moneyline odds in both decimal and fractional formats, explains the overtime and shootout rules that catch newcomers off guard, and covers the strategic considerations that separate informed bettors from people who just pick their favourite team.
How to Read Moneyline Odds in Ice Hockey
The first moneyline I ever read was on a tiny screen in a William Hill shop, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time working out what the numbers meant. Let me spare you that confusion.
On UK betting sites, moneyline odds for ice hockey are typically displayed in decimal format. Suppose you see Toronto at 1.55 and Montreal at 2.40. Toronto is the favourite — lower decimal odds mean a higher implied probability of winning. Montreal is the underdog — higher odds reflect a lower probability but a bigger payout.
Here is how the maths works. A 10-pound bet on Toronto at 1.55 returns 15.50 pounds if they win (your 10-pound stake plus 5.50 profit). The same 10-pound bet on Montreal at 2.40 returns 24 pounds (10-pound stake plus 14 profit). The favourite pays less because the bookmaker considers them more likely to win.
To convert decimal odds into implied probability, divide 1 by the decimal odds and multiply by 100. Toronto at 1.55 implies a 64.5% chance of winning (1 / 1.55 = 0.645). Montreal at 2.40 implies 41.7%. Those two probabilities add up to 106.2% rather than 100%, and that extra 6.2% is the bookmaker’s margin — the built-in edge that ensures profitability regardless of the result.
Some UK sites still offer fractional odds. Toronto at 1.55 decimal is roughly 11/20 in fractional terms. Montreal at 2.40 is 7/5. If you grew up with football betting, fractional feels natural. But for hockey, I would recommend switching to decimal in your account settings. The NHL is an American-Canadian sport, and most analysis resources publish in American or decimal formats, making conversions far smoother.
You will occasionally see American odds on forums and North American tipster sites. These use positive and negative numbers: Toronto might be -180, Montreal +200. Negative means how much you stake to win 100 dollars; positive means how much you win from a 100-dollar stake. Convert to decimal by dividing 100 by the absolute American value and adding 1 (for favourites) or by dividing the American value by 100 and adding 1 (for underdogs). Or just let your betting site do the conversion — every decent UK operator supports all three formats.
Overtime and Shootouts: How They Affect Moneyline
A mate of mine once celebrated a moneyline win, only to discover his bet had actually been settled as a loser because he had accidentally selected a “regulation time” market. That distinction between full-time moneyline and regulation-time moneyline is the single most important thing to understand before you place any hockey bet.
The standard moneyline in ice hockey includes overtime and shootouts. If you back a team on the moneyline and they win in any fashion — regulation, overtime, or shootout — your bet wins. This is the default market on every major UK bookmaker. The NHL generates revenue projected between $7.5 billion and $8 billion for the 2025-26 season, and the league’s overtime format is specifically designed to produce a definitive winner every game, unlike football where draws are common. That structure means moneyline bets always resolve — there is never a void or a push.
Some bookmakers offer a three-way moneyline, also called “60-minute” or “regulation time” betting. This market treats the game as ending after three periods. If the score is tied after regulation, the draw is a separate outcome — and your bet on either team loses unless you backed the draw. Three-way markets typically offer higher odds on each team because the draw drains probability from both sides. You might see Toronto at 1.85, Montreal at 3.10, and the draw at 4.00 in a three-way market, compared to Toronto at 1.55 and Montreal at 2.40 on the standard two-way moneyline.
Why does this matter? Because roughly 23-26% of NHL regular season games reach overtime. If you are betting the two-way moneyline, those games still produce a winner for you. If you are betting three-way, more than one in five games ends in a draw result, which is a losing bet unless you specifically backed it. Know which market you are in before you click confirm.
Moneyline Strategy: Favourites, Underdogs and Juice
Early in my career, I fell into the classic trap: backing heavy favourites on the moneyline because they “should” win. A team priced at 1.20 wins roughly 80% of the time, and that feels safe. But here is the maths that nobody tells you upfront. At odds of 1.20, you need to win 83.3% of your bets just to break even (1 / 1.20 = 0.833). So even if the team wins 80% of the time, you are losing money long-term because the price does not adequately compensate for the 20% of games they drop.
The juice — also called vigorish or vig — is the bookmaker’s commission baked into the odds. On a perfectly balanced moneyline market, both sides would be priced at 2.00 (implying 50% each, totalling 100%). In reality, a coin-flip hockey game might be priced at 1.91 and 1.91, totalling 104.7% in implied probability. That 4.7% overround is the juice, and it comes directly out of your expected returns.
Underdogs in ice hockey win more often than casual bettors expect. The NHL is a league built on parity — the salary cap, which hit a record $95.5 million in 2025-26, ensures that talent is distributed relatively evenly. Over a full season, underdogs priced between 2.20 and 3.00 win around 35-40% of the time, and at those prices, a 35% win rate can be profitable.
My approach is straightforward. I never bet a moneyline favourite below 1.40 unless my model gives them a significantly higher probability than the market implies. For underdogs, I look for situations where the odds overstate the gap — a backup goaltender start by the favourite, a back-to-back schedule disadvantage, or a team returning from a long road trip. Those are the spots where moneyline underdogs offer genuine value.
For a detailed side-by-side comparison of when to take the moneyline versus the puck line spread, the puck line versus moneyline breakdown maps out every scenario and decision point.
Is a moneyline bet in ice hockey the same as a win bet?
Yes. A moneyline bet and a win bet are the same thing in ice hockey. You are simply backing one team to win the game. On most UK betting sites, the default moneyline includes overtime and shootouts, so your team can win in any fashion and the bet pays out. The term moneyline comes from North American betting terminology, while UK punters more commonly say win bet, but both refer to an identical market.
Do moneyline bets include overtime in ice hockey?
The standard two-way moneyline includes overtime and shootouts. If your chosen team wins in any period — regulation, overtime or shootout — your bet wins. However, some bookmakers offer a separate three-way or regulation-time moneyline where the draw is an additional outcome and the game is settled after sixty minutes of play. Always check whether you are selecting the two-way or three-way market before confirming your bet.
