With the rise in online bookmakers, betting is now more accessible than ever, with bettors having the pick of hundreds of different bets across a range of sports. It’s easy to become a little overwhelmed with this level of choice and the confusing nature of some betting markets.
One of the trickier to understand bet types is the handicap bet. But as you’ll see in this article, which focuses on Asian Handicap betting, it’s also one of the most useful types of bet.
Perhaps most importantly, Asian Handicaps are a great way to bet on mismatched teams, providing more appealing odds than those offered by the 1x2 match odds market. They’re also ideal if you want to bet on your chosen team to win by a certain number of goals, corners or points.
This article covers everything you need to know about what Asian Handicap bets are, why they’re so useful, and how to tell them apart from the closely related European Handicaps, as well as how to find them at a wide range of bookmakers.
A handicap bet gives one team a virtual advantage or disadvantage.
Sport can throw together some fascinating fixtures, from top-of-the table tussles between two evenly matched teams to David and Goliath battles between a longshot and a hot favourite.
When there’s a strong favourite, as there is in the below fixture between Premier League frontrunners Manchester City and newly promoted Ipswich Town, the odds on the favourite to win can be very low, whilst the outsider has very high odds.
With odds of 1.083 for Manchester City, a winning £100 bet would give a profit of just £8.30. Risking £100 to win such a relatively small amount might not be particularly appealing for some. On the other hand, a winning £10 bet on Ipswich would give a profit of £200 - amazing potential, but not very likely to happen.
This is where handicap bets come to the rescue, conveniently levelling the leveling the playing field by giving the weaker team a head start and offering potentially more attractive odds.
Take this match result market for a game between Arsenal and Brighton, for example:
Arsenal are clear favourites, with low odds as a result, so winning bets placed on them only give a fairly modest profit relative to your stake. Brighton, the outsiders, have much higher odds, with a potential profit of 7 times your stake. Of course, the downside is that this bet only has an outside chance of winning.
For those wanting something closer to a 50/50 bet, as a compromise between profit on a winning bet and how likely it is to win, betting on a Goals Handicap is ideal.
Below is Bet365’s main Asian Handicap market for the game, which aims to bring the odds as close as possible to evens (2.0 in decimal odds), with each of the bets having around a 50% chance of winning:
You can see that the stronger team, Arsenal, are given a negative -1.5 handicap, so they effectively start the match 1.5 goals behind. This makes the bet less likely to win, and the odds are increased as a result. Meanwhile, the weaker team, Brighton, are given a positive +1.5 handicap, giving them a virtual 1.5 goal head start. This makes the bet much more likely to win, so the odds are decreased.
Handicap betting is available across several sports, including football, rugby, American football and basketball, and the handicap can apply to different measures, including goals, points, and corners. We’ll focus on the football Goals Handicap in the rest of the article.
The details of how exactly how handicaps work, and what this means for your bets, will be covered shortly. First, let’s look at the different types of handicap bet.
European Handicaps are 3-way markets and include the draw.
European Handicaps are also known as 3-Way Handicaps. They’re three-way markets, meaning you have three choices to bet on. Bookmakers show European Handicaps in a variety of ways, but they can be identified by the draw / tie option that is always included.
A bet on the draw after adding or subtracting the same number of goals from one of the teams.
Here’s how Dafabet show European Handicap bets:
Asian Handicaps are 2-way markets and don’t include the draw.
Thought to have originated in Indonesia, and popular in Asia (hence the name), Asian Handicaps are now readily available at many bookmakers worldwide. They’re also known as 2-Way Handicaps.
The easiest way to spot Asian Handicaps is that they’re 2-way markets, meaning there are only two options to bet on. There’s no draw / tie bet in Asian handicap betting.
The two possible bets in an Asian Handicap market are:
Here’s how Betfair Sportsbook shows Asian Handicap markets:
There are two types of Asian Handicap - those with a single handicap and those with two handicaps.
These can be broken down into Whole Handicap and Half Handicap bets:
Asian Handicaps with two handicaps are called Split Handicaps, since they divide your stake equally between two adjacent handicaps. A -1.5 / -2.0 Asian Handicap puts half your stake on the -1.5 Asian Handicap and the other half on the -2.0 Asian Handicap. The handicaps are sometimes separated by a comma instead of a slash.
Split Handicaps also called Quarter Handicaps, because some bookmakers show them with a single number handicap. This handicap number is the mid-point between the two handicaps you’re actually betting on and always ends in .25 or .75. The above bet on the -1.5 and -2.0 Asian Handicap markets would be shown as -1.75.
We’ll look in more detail at these different types of Asian Handicap bet shortly.
Here’s a quick look at the differences between these two handicaps.
Half Handicap bets end in .5, for example -2.5 or +3.5. Below is a Half Handicap market offered by Coral:
As can be seen above, not all bookmakers show the plus sign before the + handicap.
There’s always a clear winner in Half Handicap markets, since it’s not possible to score half a goal. The two handicaps in the above screenshot are actually just the same as other common bets you can also find on bookmaker sites:
Bookmakers should, in theory, have the same odds for equivalent markets like these, but it’s worth checking to see if one of the two options gives better odds. Betting Exchange odds are often different between two identical, but differently named, markets.
In the screenshots below, you can see that the back and lay odds on Manchester United -0.5 1st Half Handicap are both much worse than those in the equivalent Manchester United Half-time Result market, largely due to the handicap market being less well formed:
For the Arsenal -1.5 bet, Arsenal need to win by 2 or more goals for the bet to win. With the Brighton +1.5 bet, the bet will win if Brighton do better than losing by 2 goals (i.e. they need to either win, draw, or lose by 1 goal).
1. Arsenal win the game 3-1
After the -1.5 handicap is applied and 1.5 goals are deducted from Arsenal, the adjusted score is 1.5-1. Arsenal still have more goals, so the bet wins.
2. Arsenal win the game 1-0
After the -1.5 handicap is applied, Arsenal end up with -0.5 goals and Brighton still have 0 goals. Since -0.5 is lower than 0, Arsenal have fewer goals, so the bet loses.
1. Arsenal win the game 3-2
After the +1.5 handicap is applied and 1.5 goals are added for Brighton, the score becomes 3-3.5. Brighton now have more goals than Arsenal, so the bet wins.
2. Arsenal win the game 5-3
After the +1.5 handicap is applied, the score becomes 5-4.5. Brighton still have fewer goals, so the bet loses.
Here’s a summary of some different Half Asian Handicap bets, and which results would give you a winning bet:
Whole Asian Handicap bets include handicaps that are always whole numbers, for example -3.0 or +1.0. Unlike Half Handicaps, it’s possible for the teams to be tied after applying the handicap. If this happens, it will be settled as a void or push and you’ll have your stake returned.
The Level Handicap market (0.0) is equivalent to betting on the team to win in the Draw No Bet market. If the game ends 2-2, for example, the level handicap adds no goals to either team, so the handicap result is a tie and your stake is returned.
For the Liverpool -2 bet, Liverpool need to win by 3 or more goals for the bet to win. With the Nottingham Forest +2 bet, the bet will win if Nottingham Forest do better than losing by 2 goals (i.e. they need to either win, draw, or lose by 1 goal). If Liverpool win by exactly 2 goals, both of these bets will be settled as a void or push and you’ll have your stake refunded.
1. Liverpool win the game 4-1
After the -2 handicap is applied and 2 goals are deducted from Liverpool, the adjusted score is 2-1. Liverpool still have more goals, so the bet wins.
2. Liverpool win the game 2-0
After the -2 handicap is applied, the score becomes 0-0. Since this is a handicap tie, the bet is void and your stake is refunded.
3. Liverpool win the game 3-2
After the -2 handicap is applied, the score becomes 1-2. Liverpool now have fewer goals, so the bet loses.
1. Liverpool win the game 4-3
After the handicap is applied and 2 goals are added for Nottingham Forest, the score becomes 4-5. Nottingham Forest now have more goals than Liverpool, so the bet wins.
2. Liverpool win the game 5-3
After the +2 handicap is applied, the score becomes 5-5. Since this is a handicap tie, the bet is void and your stake is refunded.
3. Liverpool win the game 3-0
After the +2 handicap is applied, the score becomes 3-2. Nottingham Forest still have fewer goals, so the bet loses.
Some bookmakers show Whole Asian Handicaps with a .0 at the end and some don’t. Although Whole Asian Handicaps often look the same as the similarly named European Handicap bet, particularly without the .0, it’s important to understand that the two bets are different.
For example, a Leicester City -1 Asian Handicap is different to a Leicester City -1 European Handicap. Here are the differences between the two bets:
If Leicester win by exactly one goal:
If it's a draw, or if Leicester lose the game, or win by more than 1 goal, the European and Asian Handicap bets will be settled in the same way.
Since you lose your stake on a -1 European Handicap bet but get it refunded on a -1 Asian Handicap bet if Leicester win by 1 goal, you’ll get better odds on the European Handicap. This can be seen below, where Dafabet are offering European -1 Handicap odds of 9.80 and Asian -1 Handicap of 8.00:
European Handicap:
Asian Handicap:
Here’s a summary of some different Whole Asian Handicap bets, and which results would give you a winning bet and a void bet (where your stake is returned for no profit or loss):
The most complicated of the Asian handicaps are Split Asian Handicaps. These divide, or split, your stake equally between two adjacent handicap markets (these are always a Whole Handicap and one of the two nearest Half Handicaps). Sometimes, bookmakers list both of the handicaps, separated by a slash or comma. Bet365 show their Split Asian Handicaps like this:
Other bookmakers list them differently, leading to their alternative name - Quarter Handicap. This is a kind of shorthand way of showing them, with the handicap number being the mid-point between the two handicaps you’re actually betting on. Dafabet show their split handicaps like this:
There’s no difference between a -1.0, -1.5 Asian Handicap and a -1.25 Asian Handicap, apart from appearance. In each case, half of your stake goes on the -1.0 Asian Handicap market and the other half goes on the -1.5 Asian Handicap market.
For the Chelsea -0.75 bet, half of your stake is placed on the -0.5 Asian Handicap market and the other half on the -1 Asian Handicap market. Chelsea need to win by 2 or more goals for the bet to win completely. If Chelsea win by exactly 1 goal, the -0.5 handicap bet wins and the -1 handicap bet is void with your stake returned. This is known as a Half Win bet, since half of your bet wins and you get your stake returned on the other half.
With the Bournemouth +0.75 bet, half of your stake is placed on the +0.5 Asian Handicap and the other half on the +1 Asian Handicap. The bet will win completely if Bournemouth draw or win. If Chelsea win by exactly 1 goal, the +1 bet is settled as a void or push and your stake is refunded, whilst the +0.5 bet loses. This is known as a Half Lose bet, since half of your bet loses and you get your stake returned on the other half.
1. Chelsea win the game 2-4
After the -0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your -1 handicap bet is 2-3 and the adjusted score for your -0.5 handicap bet is 2-3.5. Both of these bets are winning bets, so all of your bet wins.
2. Chelsea win the game 0-1
After the -0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your -1 handicap bet is 0-0, so this bet is void and your stake is returned. The adjusted score for your -0.5 handicap bet is 0-0.5, so this bet wins. Overall, the bet is a Half Win.
3. The game is drawn 2-2
After the -0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your -1 handicap bet becomes 2-1 and the adjusted score for your -0.5 handicap bet becomes 2-1.5. Both of these are losing bets, so all of your bet loses.
1. The game is drawn 3-3
After the +0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your +1 handicap bet becomes 4-3 and the adjusted score for your +0.5 handicap bet becomes 3.5-3. Both of these bets are winning bets, so all of your bet wins.
2. Chelsea win the game 1-2
After the +0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your +1 handicap bet is 2-2, so this bet is void and your stake is returned. The adjusted score for your +0.5 handicap bet is 1.5-2, so this bet loses. Overall, the bet is a Half Loss.
3. Chelsea win the game 3-5
After the +0.75 handicap is applied, the adjusted score for your +1 handicap bet becomes 4-5 and the adjusted score for your +0.5 handicap bet becomes 3.5-2. Both of these bets are losing bets, so all of your bet loses.
Here’s a summary of some different Split Asian Handicap bets, and which results give winning bets and half void bets (where half of your stake is returned and the other half either wins or loses). The ‘Asian Handicap’ column shows the two ways bookmakers show these handicaps.
Here you can see all of the Asian Handicaps from -2.0 to +2.0, showing how the result of the game relates to the outcome of the bet. The second column either shows the alternative name for the handicap, if it’s a Split / Quarter Handicap, or notes about the handicap.
This section shows you how to find Asian Handicap bets across a wide range of bookmakers. The sections expand when selected.
At the top are several bookmaker groups, for example Aspire Global Group and Kambi Group. All of the bookmakers within these groups will have sites that are pretty much identical apart from the colour schemes and some minor organisational differences.
Underneath are all the other bookmakers, listed individually. A few of these might belong to the groups listed in the top section but, since they are organised differently, they are listed separately.
Asian Handicaps are a great option for games involving mismatched teams, allowing you to bet on firm favourites with higher odds and lowering the odds on outsiders, to make these bets more likely to win. With the wide range of Asian Handicaps offered by bookmakers, you can select bets that are tailored to your choice of risk versus reward, or use them to bet on a team to win by a certain number of goals or more.
Whether you’re having a punt on your favourite team to win by 3 or more goals, or finding the best bets for Matched Betting, Arbing, or Value Betting, it’s helpful to know how this important bet type works, and how to find and place your Asian Handicap bets.
Updated: 22 Oct 2024
Simon has helped thousands of members profit from Matched Betting using both his passion for writing and desire to understand how things work. He has used his mathematical and analytical skills to create several guides, calculators, betting and casino tools to make the process of Matched Betting easier for newcomers and experienced members alike.
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