Discover the advantages of Handicap Betting, the most popular form of sports betting in the United States and Asia. Also called a competition equilibrium bet, it is a type of bet in which the bookmaker adds or subtracts goals or points to the team that is expected to lose in order to determine the outcome and give the opponent an advantage in order to balance the chances of both competitors.
Handicap betting is used to eliminate the differences in an asymmetric match by subtracting points or goals from the favorite player or by adding them to the opponent.
There are two types of handicap betting:
- Traditional handicap
- Asian handicap
Traditional handicap betting is the following: One goal can be subtracted from the side who are the favorites, or one added to their opponents.
If you are betting on the favorite, they will need to outperform their handicap if you are to win your bet. This obstacle will be subtracted from the final result. The favorite’s handicap is preceded by a (-) sign.
The opponent starts playing at the starting point and takes precedence, which will be added to the final score. The opponent’s handicap is preceded by a (+) sign.
Note that the handicap is only added or subtracted from the score of the team you bet on. There is no accumulation.
A handicap betting might be offered for any type of sport but is especially popular in rugby and American sports.
Example of a traditional handicap betting
Handicap: England-Italy rugby match
England starts with a 25-points handicap. The odds are as follows:
| Italy +25 | Draw | England -25 |
| 1.8 | 20 | 1.8 |
The possible results are:
- 1. England beat Italy by more than 25 points: The correct forecast is England -25.
- 2. England beat Italy by 25 points: correct forecast is a draw.
- 3. England beat Italy by a margin of less than 25 points, and the match ends in a draw or Italy’s surprisingly win: the correct forecast is Italy +25.
Asian handicap bet
The Asian handicap Betting is closely related to the traditional handicap, but it has several important differences:
- You can’t bet on a drawn match
- ¼, ½ or ¾ handicap are possible
The following specific provisions apply when calculating profits and losses:
- Your stake is refunded if the result is a drawn match after the handicap is taken into account
- Your profit or loss is divided in half if the result is victory by a quarter of the goal after taking into account the handicap
The notation system for Asian handicap betting uses the symbol (:). For example, a 0:1 handicap means that a goal is added to the score of the away team.
Here are the different types of Asian handicap bets:
Asian Handicap Bet 0:0
This is the handicap provided when there is no favorite.
The stake is refunded if there is a draw in the match.
| Match | Newcastle | Handicap | Liverpool |
| Newcastle – Liverpool | 1.9 | 0:0 | 1.9 |
A bet on Newcastle wins if Newcastle wins the match and loses if Liverpool wins.
If the match is a draw, the stake is refunded.
| 0:0 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on Newcastle | Bet on Liverpool |
| Newcastle wins | 2:0 | 2:0 | Won | Lost |
| Draw | 1:1 | 1:1 | Refunded | Refunded |
| Liverpool wins | 0:1 | 0:1 | Lost | Won |
Asian Handicap Bet 0: ¼
This handicap means that one team is given 0.25 goals starting from the other at kickoff.
Profit or loss is halved if the match is drawn.
| Match | AC Milan | Handicap | Arsenal |
| AC Milan – Arsenal | 1.9 | 0:1/4 | 1.9 |
A bet on AC Milan wins if the team wins the match and a loss if Arsenal wins.
In the event of a draw, betting on AC Milan will cost you half your stake, while betting on Arsenal will earn you half of the money you expected to win.
| 0:1/4 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on AC Milan | Bet on Arsenal |
| AC Milan wins | 1:0 | 1:0.25 | Won | Lost |
| Draw | 1:1 | 1:1.25 | Lost half | Won half
= Stake × (odds-1) / 2 |
| Arsenal wins | 0:1 | 0:1.25 | Lost | Won |
Asian Handicap Bet 0: ½
This handicap means that one team gets 0.5 goals over the other at kickoff.
| Match | Monaco | Handicap | Lille |
| Monaco – Lille | 1.9 | 0:1/2 | 1.9 |
A bet on Monaco wins if Monaco wins the match and loses if Lille wins or if the match ends in a draw.
| 0:1/2 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on Monaco | Bet on Lille |
| Monaco wins | 1:0 | 1:0.5 | Won | Lost |
| Draw | 0:0 | 0:0.5 | Lost | Won |
| Lille wins | 0:1 | 0:1.5 | Lost | Won |
Asian Handicap Bet 0: ¾
This handicap means that one team gets 0.75 goals over the other at kickoff. The profit or loss is halved if the favorite wins by one goal difference.
| Match | Valencia | Handicap | Bilbao |
| Valencia – Bilbao | 1.9 | 0:3/4 | 1.9 |
A bet on Valencia wins if Valencia wins the match by a difference of at least two goals, but loses if the match is a draw or if Bilbao wins. However, if Valencia wins with just one goal, a Valencia bet will only win you half of what you expected to win, while a bet on Bilbao will result in you losing half your stake.
| 0:3/4 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on Valencia | Bet on Bilbao |
| Valencia wins by a difference of at least 2 goals | 2:0 | 2:0.75 | Won | Lost |
| Valencia wins by just one goal | 1:0 | 1:0.75 | Won half = Stake * (odds-1) / 2 | Lost half |
| Draw | 1:1 | 1:1.75 | Lost | Won |
| Bilbao wins | 0:1 | 0:1.75 | Lost | Won |
Asian Handicap Bet 0:1
This handicap means that one team is given a goal on the other at kickoff. The stake is refunded if the favorite wins by one goal difference.
| Match | Porto | Handicap | Braga |
| Porto – Braga | 1.9 | 0:1 | 1.9 |
The bet on Porto wins if Porto wins the match by at least two goals difference and loses if the match is drawn or Braga wins. If Porto wins by a single goal, the stake will be refunded.
| 0:1 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on Porto | Bet on Braga |
| Porto wins by a difference of at least 2 goals | 2:0 | 2:1 | Won | Lost |
| Porto wins by a single goal | 1:0 | 1:1 | Refunded | Refunded |
| Draw | 1:1 | 1:2 | Lost | Won |
| Braga wins | 0:1 | 0:2 | Lost | Won |
Asian handicap bet 0:1 ¾
This handicap means that one team has scored a goal of 1.75 at kickoff. Profit or loss is halved if the favorite wins by two goals difference.
| Match | Stuttgart | Handicap | Freiburg |
| Stuttgart – Freiburg | 1.9 | 0:1 3/4 | 1.9 |
The bet on Stuttgart wins if Stuttgart wins the match by a difference of at least two goals and loses if Stuttgart wins by a single goal, if the match is drawn or if Freiburg wins the match. However, if Stuttgart wins by a difference of exactly two goals, a bet on Stuttgart will only earn you half of what you expected to win, while betting on Freiburg will lose you half of your stake.
| 0:1 3/4 Handicap | Score | Score after handicap | Bet on Stuttgart | Bet on Freiburg |
| Stuttgart wins by a difference of at least 2 goals | 3:0 | 3:1.75 | Won | Lost |
| Stuttgart wins by a difference of 2 goals | 2:0 | 2:1.75 | Won half = Stake * (odds-1) / 2 | Lost half |
| Stuttgart wins by a difference of 1 goal | 1:0 | 1:1.75 | Won half = Stake * (odds-1) / 2 | Lost half |
| Draw | 1:1 | 0:1.75 | Lost | Won |
| Freiburg wins | 0:1 | 0:2.75 | Lost | Won |
Once you become familiar with the concept, Asian handicap betting offers several advantages:
- There are only two possible outcomes (a home win or an away win) instead of the three traditional results
- You have more chances to win the Asian handicap bet because of the extra possibility to get half the expected profit
- Your losses are reduced by the possibility of losing only half your stake
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