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Hurling is a team game that is played outdoors and is of Gaelic and Irish origin. It is said to have existed for at least 3,000 years. It is also considered to be the fastest sport played on grass. It’s high paced game requires players to combine the skills from baseball, field hockey and lacrosse all in one game.
Hurling is a stick and ball which is played by two teams of 15 players per team and played on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end of the pitch. The main objective is to score by driving the ball through the H-shaped goals for three points or putting the ball over the bar while scoring a point. The teams which ends up with the highest score at the end of the match is declared the winner.
For players, the game of hurling requires determination, grit, skill and overall toughness. As a spectator sport, it brings plenty of excitement and entertainment given the speed of the game, the physicality at which it is being played and the thrill it delivers.
Since it’s a sport, therefore betting also exists in hurling although it doesn’t get the attention it deserves outside of Ireland, where it is the country’s national sport. Therefore it is our duty to share out enthusiasm and knowledge of hurling betting so that you will be confident enough to make good hurling bets.
Finding The Best Betting Site
Since hurling is a niche sport, you won’t find hurling bets in all of the bookmakers. Usually, hurling bets can be found in a few betting sites like Bovada, Bet365 and the Irish bet maker Paddy Power. We recommend that you take a look at all the bookmakers with betting lines for Gaelic games. Not only do some not carry all the games, but the odds vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. Hence, you must find the best possible price for a bet you’ve chosen.
Shopping around is always good in sports betting, it gets you the best value for your bet and if you win, you get the best yield for your bet. We mentioned three bookmakers above. There are more and for you to determine if these other sites are as dependable, you have to use these criteria:
Security and Reputation- This is the most important of all considerations. Since you placed you money in a bookmaker, it must be safe and secure with that bookmaker and when you win, it pays out immediately and without delay.
Number of Matches Covered-Some betting sites only cover major hurling tournaments or games. What we want is a bookmaker who covers all kinds of hurling, whether bigtime or small time. This is important so that you will never run out of hurling bets to make.
Different Markets- Of course we love the simple bets but once we get the hang of the sport, we also want to bet on other markets like totals, spreads, handicaps, first scorer and the likes. You want to keep you betting appetite exciting.
Competitive Odds-When we say competitive odds, we mean that a bookmaker must have a better yield than its competitors. For example if Bookie A is offering 4/1 on Team 1 to beat Team 2 and Bookie B is offering 5/1, you have to pick Bookie B because you make more money with the same risk.
Major Hurling Competitions
The most prestigious hurling tournament is the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship which is like the Super Bowl of hurling. Aside from the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, these are the major hurling competitions around the globe:
- Leinster Hurling Senior Championship
- Munster Hurling Senior Championship
- Ulster Hurling Senior Championship
- National Hurling League
- Christy Ring Cup
- Nicky Rackard Cup
- Lory Meagher Cup
- Hurling All-Ireland U21 Championship
Types of Bets
Moneyline bets are made on who wins a particular match. Your option here would be team A or B or a draw. Handicap bets are also available in hurling. In sports like basketball and football, these are the spread odds. Instead of team being priced at the moneyline, a certain number of points is added to an underdog’s score and deducted to a favorite’s score to determine a winner. Draw No Bet is a variation of the moneyline without the draw option. Double Result bets mean you pick the the team with the higher score at halftime and the winning team in full-time. First, Last and Anytime Goalscorer is a bet which predicts which particular player will make the first or last goal or if a player is going to score in a particular match.
What About Gaelic Football?
Like hurling, gaelic football is one of the four major Gaelic Sports and as such it is just as popular. Hence, you can find gaelic football bets on the same betting sites as hurling so there’s no difference really in where to find a bookmaker and which bookmaker to use.
The difference lies in how the game is played. Gaelic football is played by two teams of 15 players per team playing in a rectangular pitch. The objective of the sport is to score more points than you opponents to be declared the winner. A team scores either by kicking or punching the football into the opposing team’s goal which is worth three points. Another form of scoring is kicking or punching the ball through two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar. This is worth one point.
Here is a more detailed explanation of Gaelic football. Watch this:
Major Gaelic Football Competitions
- All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship
- Leinster Senior Football Championship
- Ulster Senior Football Championship
- Connacht Senior Football Championship
- Munster Senior Football Championship
When it comes to level of competition, only a handful of teams dominate the hurling scene. Meanwhile, there are plenty of competitive teams in Gaelic football, making betting more exciting as well. Like in hurling, you must do your homework here too like checking teams and the players in each team, finding previous results.
Generally, you can make the same kinds of bet in Gaelic Football as you can make in hurling. The moneyline bets, handicap bets, draw no bets, first/last/anytime goalscorer etc. Betting on Gaelic Football isn’t that different from betting on hurling. And just like in hurling and any other sport, betting can be addictive. So make sure you bet responsibly.
