An Introduction to Handicap Betting

In matches or games where the odds offered on the teams are too low, or placing a bet on the underdog almost seems like a waste of money because they have a very small chance of winning, handicap bets may be used to make the bets more feasible.

There are two kinds of handicap bets, you will find one available for numerous sports while the other is only available on a handful of sports. Handicap bets are only offered for sports where the game is decided by which player or teams win the most points, sets, runs or goals.

Asian Handicap Bets

These are a common type of handicap bet where bettors can make use of positive and negative handicaps on either of the teams to win.

Commonly, a negative handicap is placed on the favourites. In the Asian handicap bets, these are usually offered as -1.5, -2.5, -3.5 and so on.

In football matches where the games are decided by which team scores the most goals, negative handicaps of -1.5 and -2.5 may be available, where the team needs to win by scoring at least 2 or 3 goals for the bet to win. If a negative handicap of -1.5 is placed on one team and they win the match 2-1, then the bet will be lost because the score after the handicap will be adjusted to 0.5-1. Punters need to pay attention to the decimal value in these bets.

Positive Asian handicaps can be set on teams that are the underdogs. These have the same value as the negative handicaps, only they are positive, so positive Asian handicaps in football may be +1.5 or +2.5. If a +2.5 handicap is set on a team, they either need to win the game, draw, or not lose the game by more than 3 goals for the bet to win. If the team loses the match 3-1, the bet will still pay because the final score after the handicap is implemented will be 3-3.5. The odds for the underdog will be reduced, but the chances of the bet winning will be far higher, which offers fans of the specific team a bet they can place and still have a good chance of winning.

For games such as basketball, rugby, cricket or other sports that have higher scoring games, the handicaps may be higher, such as -6.5, -7.5, -8.5 or +6.5, +7.5, +8.5 depending on whether the handicap is negative or positive.

Double Asian Handicap Bets

Double Asian handicap bets take the possibility of a draw into account. There are sports where matches do not finish in draws, so this is only applicable for sports where there is regular time and the teams can tie on goals, points or runs at the end of the regular time.

Double Asian Handicaps will offer handicaps such as +1.25, +2.25 as well as -1.25, -2.25 and so on. The double Asian handicap of -1.25 is split into two bets, of -1 and -1.5. If the team loses the match, the bet is lost, if the team wins the match by only 1 goal, the bet is refunded and if the team wins the match by 2 or more goals, the bet is paid in full. To put this into an example, if the team wins the match 2-1, one of the bets does not pay out, but in case of a tie the -1 bet pays, meaning the stake is refunded. If the team wins the by 3-1, then both bets have won, meaning the bet will pay in full.

European Handicap Bets

The European handicap bet is similar to the Asian handicap, only it does not have the additional decimal in the handicap value. With European handicaps, if the bet ends in a draw, the bet is lost. The values for the European Handicaps in football are +1, +2, +3 and so on, with the same negative values, -1, -2, -3 and so on. If a bet is placed on a team to win with a positive handicap of +1, this will mean the team needs to either win the match or draw for the bet to win. If the score ends 2-1 to the other team, the final adjusted score is 2-2, which is a draw so the bet loses. Alternatively, there are European handicap bets on a draw, where punters can bet on a team with a handicap and predict the match to finish in a draw. This is difficult as it requires a precise margin in the score, but it also offers extremely long odds.