Frequently Asked Questions

October 07, 2024

Table of Contents

General

When does the season start

This is a more complicated question than you may think.

The NHL season “officially” began on Tuesday, October 8th. Before we start providing picks, we want to wait for each team to play a few games, to assure the models are working as expected this season. We therefore give a 2 week grace period to the start of the season.

We then will provide the picks for free for the following month, to give a sample of the product while making any final refinements for the season.

So, Neural Net bets considers (around) October 18th as the start of the trial period. The full set of models will be operational once each team has played 10 games, in early November. The predictions will only be for paid members starting around mid November. This will give you a chance to see first hand how the model works and the returns it can bring.

Currently, there is no plan to provide predictions for NHL playoffs.

Updates will be sent with any changes to this plan, and as we move into each new phase.

How accurate are Neural Net Bets Predictions

Of the 1312 regular season NHL games in the 2023/24 season, 586 were predicted before they happened. During this period, the model was 64.4% accurate. Going back to estimate how it would perform over the entire season does not work entirely the same, but would average between 60-65% accuracy. More details can be found here.

What is the cost

Stay tuned and subscribe for further updates on this. The good news is that there will be no cost until mid November!

What bets do you provide

Only moneyline bets are provided for every game. This means betting on which team will win each game (overtime/shootout included). It is possible in the future, the nature of the model will be leveraged to provide player prop bets as well.

No player bets will be provided (for now), and neither will any parlays. However, during testing it was generally found that parlaying all teams with >60% chance to win would be profitable, it is not part of the official bets provided.

Suggested bet amounts will not be provided in $ amounts, but in bet units. This allows you to set a scale of betting that feels comfortable for you. A bet unit is a measurement of your bet size at online sportsbooks and casinos.

For example, if the suggested bet is 3.5 units on Toronto Money Line, if your bet unit was $20, you would place a 3.5 × 20 = $70 bet.

How do I choose a bet unit

Your bet unit should depend on the amount of money you are willing to deposit to start off the season. We generally recommend that your bet unit be 1-5% of your initial deposit but the choice is left to you.

For example, if I only want to deposit $500, my bet unit would be somewhere between $5-$25. How large depends on how tolerant you want your bankroll to be to losing streaks.

Additionally, you can choose to keep the same bet unit throughout the season, or scale it up as your bankroll grows. However keep in mind, this runs the risk of hitting a few losing days right as you scale up.

What can I expect to make following your picks

There is no guarantee how much will be made.

In all testing (many different models and betting strategies), it was very rare to see a return of less than 100% (doubling your initial deposit). As much as I would like to give you a number, statistically speaking it could be anything. However, it is very, very likely that following the full bets will net at least a 50% return (as a very conservative estimate).

Sports / Hockey Betting

How do sports betting odds work?

Sportsbooks release betting odds on thousands of sporting events each week. The odds highlight the profit you would earn by placing a winning bet on a certain market. They also provide an implied probability of each bet succeeding.

How are sports betting odds determined?

Oddsmakers at the leading sportsbooks will weigh up the strengths of both teams. They focus on offensive and defensive capabilities, recent results, head-to-heads, injury news, home advantage and other important factors. The sportsbooks then release odds on either team winning the game and on markets such as total points and props.

What does positive (+) odds mean?

The plus sign tells you the profit you would earn if you placed a successful $100 bet. For example, a $100 bet at +150 would earn you a $150 profit and a $100 bet at +200 would net you a $200 profit.

Why would you bet on negative (-) odds?

The most popular betting options tend to have negative odds. For example, most sportsbooks offer -110 on either side of a point spread or a total points line. It means you will not quite double your money if you succeed, so you need to win around 55% of your bets to generate a healthy profit.

How do American betting odds work?

American betting odds can either begin with a plus (+) or a minus (-). If they begin with a plus, it explains the profit available on a successful $100 wager. For example, a $100 bet at +120 would net you $120. If they begin with a minus, it explains how much you need to wager to win $100. A (+) bet indicates the underdog, or less likely scenario while a (-) indicates the favorite.

How do decimal betting odds work?

Decimal odds highlight the total return you would earn from a winning bet. That includes your profit and the return of your bet amount. For example, a $10 bet at 4.50 would return $45, which encompasses a $35 profit and the return of your $10 stake.

What do betting odds of -200 mean?

They tell you that a $200 bet would be required to generate a $100 profit. Essentially, it means you will earn 50% of your bet amount in profit. For example, a $200 bet would net you $100 in winnings, while a $40 bet at -200 would earn you a $20 profit.

How do money lines work in betting?

A moneyline bet is a simple prediction on which team will win a game. The sportsbooks release moneyline odds on each contestant, and the odds tell you the profit available by betting on each option.

Why do betting lines move?

Breaking news of an injury to an important player could cause betting lines to move. Sportsbooks will also change their lines if most bettors back one team. They want to spread out their risk, so they will try to encourage more bets on the less popular team by offering more appealing odds on that team.