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by Darren Moore of BetFinder
Asian Handicap is a form of betting which is very popular in Asia hence the name. "Handicap" means that a team receives a virtual head start, effectively leading the game by differing amount or amounts before it actually kicks off.
Asian handicaps are most popular in football betting and they are particularly useful in matches with strong favourites where the odds are too short. With Asian handicap betting you can effectively bet on a team to win by several goals instead of just a straight win.
If you back a team with the handicap and they manage to win the match (with head start included), then you'll win the bet.
In some cases, a team is given two virtual head starts. If they manage to overcome both of these, then you get a maximum return on your stake. If they overcome only one of these, your profit is either halved or half your stake is returned, depending on the market.
Rather than the three options available on standard football match betting:
when you bet on an Asian Handicap market, you have two options from which to choose:
The above example is the simplest case of Asian Handicap betting. ie when a team is given a half number of goals (+0.5, +1.5, +2.5 etc). The team who scores the most with the handicap applied is deemed the winner. For example, if I back Leeds to beat Coventry with a handicap of -1.5, the bet is a loser if the following happens:
but it's a winner if
As mentioned, some Asian handicap markets give teams two virtual head starts (or handicaps in the case of the favourite!). Here, we have a combination of a half goal and a whole goal handicap (-0.5 & -1, +0.5 & +1). These bets are sometimes referred to as quarter goal handicaps:
In this case, the stake is divided between a bet on the half goal and a bet on the whole goal handicap. For example, if I back Real Madrid to beat Barcelona with a handicap of -0.5 & -1.0, then
A similar market to this is when the handicap starts with a full goal amount (-1, 0, 1) rather than a half goal amount. For example:
In this case, the stake is divided between a bet on the whole goal handicap and a saver on the half goal handicap. For example, if I back Liverpool to beat Everton with a handicap of 0 & -0.5 (or -1/4 goal), then if:
The advantages of betting with Asian Handicaps:
1.You have a 50% better chance of winning than traditional odds
2.You bet on two outcomes (underdog or favourite) instead of three (home, away, draw)
3.You get more frequent returns for your stake
4.You can even win on your bet if your team loses or draws the match
5.Asian Handicap margin is 104% that’s 3 times better than the traditional fixed odds industry average of 112%
6.Asian Handicaps are accepted on all major football leagues
Summary
To summarise, asian handicaps provide an alternative way of betting on football for times when, for example, Boston meet Man Utd in the FA Cup and Man Utd are a silly unbackable price of 1/66 or something. With the asian handicap you could bet on Man Utd to win by 3 goals say, for a more acceptable price. So, if you think a team is going to get humped then check out the asian handicap markets for a bigger price and a better bet.
Asian handicaps can also provide insurance in that you can also get half of your stake refunded on void parts of the bet. If you have any further questions on asian handicaps please post them on the Betfinder forums.
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