Why Do NHL Fans Bet On Proline?

It amazes me every time I look at the PROLINE odds when I’m at my local convenient store.  As you may know, I am an avid online sports bettor and actually have an NHL betting tips website where I post my predictions daily.  So when I see how horrible the odds are at PROLINE it really starts to make me angry as I think of all the suckers out there that the Ontario government is basically taking advantage of.

For those of you who don’t know, PROLINE is a betting game run by the Ontario provincial government.  It actually classified a “sports lottery” and bettors are only able to make parlay bets of between 3 and 6 selections.  I assume this it to make it more lottery-esque, but also to give the appearance of the possibility of big wins.

Anyways, when I was writing my predictions for my NHL predictions site today I chose 4 teams that I thought would win tonight and found their odds at two of my favourite sportsbooks, 5Dimes.com and Sports Interaction.  I included these odds with my write-up so that my visitors would know the odds I am betting at.  Then, just for fun I went to the PROLINE website and checked the payout of a 4 team parlay using the same four selections to see the difference in price.  Here is what I found:

Payout at Online Sportsbooks with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.20
Lightning 1.746
Oilers 2.55
Canucks 1.80

With a $20 wager the payout online would be (2.20 x 1.746 x 2.55 x 1.80 x 20) $352.62.  A very healthy payout for four games that I believe will have these outcomes.  Now look at the PROLINE payout….

Payout at PROLINE with 4 team Parlay

Predators 2.10
Lightning 1.40
Oilers 2.20
Canucks 1.60

With a $20 wager the payout at PROLINE would be (2.10 x 1.40 x 2.20 x 1.60 x 20) $206.98 with the same picks on PROLINE.  So with a $20 wager on this 4 team NHL parlay bet you would make $145 more betting online!

But wait there’s more! Not only is the payout almost double at an online sportsbook than with PROLINE, but if any of your teams win in a shootout then the PROLINE ticket is a loser, while your online sportsbook parlay bet is still a winner.  That’s right, if any game goes to a shootout then it is considered a “draw” in the eyes of PROLINE.

So Why Do NHL Fans Bet On Proline?

The only reason I can come up with is they are simply ignorant to just how awful the PROLINE odds are and how much more money they could be making online.  Either that or they want to be ignorant and not actually know how much money they waste betting on PROLINE every year.  I just want to be able to shake everyone who bets on PROLINE and tell them there’s a better way.  A better way then paying yet another “ignorance” tax to the Ontario Government.

You can sign up at SportsInteraction.com and actually earn a profit, or at the very least lose less money than you do at PROLINE.  Plus you get all the perks that  come with an online sports betting account.  The sign up bonus ($125 at SportsInteraction.com), the promotions, the wide selection of odds, the convenience of not having to go to your local convenience store to get your winnings, not having to worry about where you left your winning ticket and much, much more.

This post was made to try to educate Canadians about PROLINE and that there is a much better option.  Visit SportsInteraction.com to set up an account today and start actually having a chance to profit betting on the NHL.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals Betting

The rematch has been set.  It’s the defending Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings in a rematch with defending and present Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.  Last year the series took 6 games to decide, but the Wings never looked like they could lose.  This year it’s basically the same Red Wings team against a slightly tweaked Penguins team.  The series odds look like this:

Penguins +135
Red Wings -155

The Red Wings are given a slight edge in this series by the bookies, but in my opinion their edge is actually much higher.  The Wings stormed through the Hawks, even without Datsyuk and Lidstrom for a few games in the series.  (Given Havlat and Khabibulin were also out and those 2 are huge parts of the Hawks team).  A few Red Wings including Datsyuk, Holmstrom and even arguably Hossa are still waiting to play their best hockey and when better to play it than the Stanley Cup Finals.  Look for Zetterberg to have another great series, as well as “The Mule” Franzen.

Pittsburgh is currently firing on all cylinders riding a 5 game winning streak into the finals and having both Crosby and Malkin finding their A games at the same time.  A good reason for this might be that they were playing defensively challenged teams Washington and Carolina, and an injured Cam Ward.  But you still have to give them credit, especially Malkin, for realy bringing it when it matters.  In my hockey opinion this level of offense isn’t going to continue for them against Detroit.  The Wings aren’t even that great a defensive team, but they will be able to shut down at least one line as long as Lidstrom is healthy.  If the Penguins are going to win they will need an amazing performance from Fleury and both Crosby and Malkin to be firing on all cylinders for the duration of the finals.  The Pens definitely have a better chance than last year, but they are just not good enough to dethrone the champs.

Bet on the Detroit Red Wings in this series.

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Bet on Round 3 Conference Finals of the NHL Playoffs

So, in round 2 I told you 3 teams to bet on.  The Penguins, the Blackhawks and the Bruins.  Two of my three picks came through, but those Bruins couldn’t beat the Cardiac Canes.  This round the match-ups are very interesting and I hope to pick them both right this time around.

Eastern Conference Finals

Hurricanes +175
Penguins – 205

Personally I think this series could go either way.   I would probably give the Pens a small edge, but not as big an edge as these odds are implying they have.  There just seems to be something special about the Hurricanes this year and the big brothers usually win their fights.  Look for Cam Ward to stand on his head and this series to go at least 6 games.   Both of these teams won their second round match ups in 7 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this series go the distance as well.  If that is the case it’s anyones guess who would take it, so go with the underdogs and the good return on your bet because the Canes just don’t seem like they will lay down at this point.

Bet on Carolina

Western Conference Finals

Blackhawks +195
Red Wings -235

This is another series that I think could go either way.  The odds are extremely one sided and I can’t see any reason for this.  The Blackhawks have had a much tougher road the Conference Finals and will be the first team that will actually test Osgood in net.  The young Blackhawks team has shown a lot of character thus far in the playoffs and they are now my pick to win the cup.  Watch for Havlat to pick it up this series and Kane and Toews to continue their solid play from game 6 of the previous series.  The Wings do have more weapons than either the Flames or the Nucks did, so a lot of pressure will fall on Brian Campbell and Hjalmarsson to shut down the extremely strong second line of the Wings.  We know Keith and Seabrook will do their part on whichever line Quennville feels is most dangerous so it will come down to Campbell and Hjalmarsson having a solid series.  If these two step up and Khabibulin plays a little better than he has so far in the playoffs the Blackhawks will continue on their way to the finals.  I think the series could go either way and for this reason again you should be on the team with the best return on the investment, which in this case is the Blackhawks.

Bet on Chicago.

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These are my hockey betting opinions.  Use them wisely!