Definition of Puck Line

What is a "puck line"? What is the definition of the term "puck line"?

When it comes to betting on hockey, there are three main types of bets:

Puck Line
Total
Money Line

With the money line, you are betting on who you think will win the game straight up.

With the "total", you are betting on how many goals you think will be scored in a game. For instance, if you think that Pittsburgh and Chicago are going to score a bunch of goals, you would probably want to bet on the "Over" if the line was set at 6.5 goals.

With the "puck line", one team will have 1.5 goals added to their total, while the other team (the favourite) will have 1.5 goals taken away.

Let's look at an example of this. Here is a puck line for a real game:

Columbus Blue Jackets, +1.5, 1.43
Pittsburgh Penguins, -1.5, 2.90

So, let's say that you take the Columbus Blue Jackets at +1.5.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will have 1.5 goals added to their total. So, if the Blue Jackets end up losing 5-4 in Overtime, you will still win. With the 1.5 goals being added to their total, they would essentially win the game 5.5-5, and you would win your bet.

If you decide that the Penguins are going to smoke the Blue Jackets, you would want to take the Penguins -1.5. In this case, if the Penguins win 6-4, you would still win your bet, as the outcome of the game was essentially 4.5-4 for the Penguins after subtracting the 1.5 goals from their total.

If the Penguins win 5-4, you would lose your bet, as you need to subtract 1.5 goals from their total.

Let's take a look at that line again:

Columbus Blue Jackets, +1.5, 1.43
Pittsburgh Penguins, -1.5, 2.90

So, if you wagered $100 on the Blue Jackets +1.5, you would win a total profit of $43.

If you wagered $100 on the Penguins at -1.5, you would win a total profit of $190. The game between the Blue Jackets and Penguins was projected to be quite close, which is why giving up 1.5 goals for the Penguins produces such a large potential profit, as they would need to win by 2 goals in order to win the bet.