Asian Handicap Betting: Detail Explanation for Beginner

Explore the intricacies of Asian Handicap betting, a popular choice among sports bettors. Discover how this unique system works and gain insights into effective strategies for maximizing your chances of success.

What is the Meaning of Asian Handicap? 

Asian Handicap is an advanced bet used in many sports to address the imbalances that two teams facing each other can cause. 

"Understandably, what asian lines betting does is balance those odds by offering even scores."

Asian lines gives both teams odds on Evens. The probability of winning for either bet is close to 50%, which is made by setting a handicap for a team to win or lose by "+" or "-" the last number of goals. Hence, gamblers have Bets that can be won back if a team does not exceed or lower the handicap.

Suffice to say, the handicap in betting football markets are perfect for football gamblers looking for an alternative to the more traditional 1x2. Sometimes its concept will be pretty complicated, but once understood, you will have a fresh perspective on football betting.

Types of Handicap Betting

There are several different types of handicap bets so that it can be confusing for newbies at times. However, you can understand that there will be two main types of handicaps, including No draw bet and Asian Handicaps, specifically:

1. No Draw Bet (Handicap): It simply eliminates a tie on tripartite markets and punters will bet on home or away victory. If the match ends in a draw, bets will be void and gamblers' stakes will be returned in full, minimizing the risk of placing bets;

2. Asian Handicap: It is similar to betting with no draw, whereby gamblers' selection can have an integer or half handicap. The advantage is worth not only an integer but also half a point or a goal.

Read more: How to Bet on NFL Games?

How Does Asian Handicap Work?

Sports can make for some fascinating equalization, but many professional matches like football or tennis have vastly superior teams facing inferior opponents. Then the odds for the favorite team to win are sometimes very small, so the potential profit is not worth the risk. Therefore, the bookmakers created the Asian handicap to balance an uneven match, allowing gamblers to approximate the 1X2 betting pattern.

Asian Handicap Full Lines

Asian line betting has its effect when there are relatively mismatched football matches where one side has a much higher probability. Therefore, the handicap is much lower to win the game, or the odds are more elevated and significant for the underdog.

"Full Line Asian Handicap is marketed with rounded numbers (1, 2, 3, ...) indicated by a "-" sign for the preferred team or a "+" sign for the weaker team."

Handicap full lines will be -1 or +1 goals for a team. If gamblers bet -1 goal for a team, there are three possible outcomes:

• If they win by one goal, i.e., the final score is 1-0 or 2-1, the bet will be returned;
• If the team wins by two or more goals, the gamblers win;
• If the team draws, the gamblers lose.

Asian Handicap Half Lines

Besides full lines, Asian lines betting also offers bets on half and quarter lines where half-line bets differ from the full line because they contain values that end in 0.5 and range from +/- 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and so on.

• Handicap 0.5 meaning that the team starts the match with a positive Asian Handicap value of 0.5 goals so that gamblers can win if the team wins or draws. If the team loses, bettors lose.
• Handicap 0.5 meaning that if the team starts with 1.5 goals, gamblers will win if the betting team wins, draws, or loses with a maximum of one goal. If the team loses by two or more goals, players lose.

Example: If the match starts at 0:0.5, the outside team has a halfway advantage before the game begins.

Let's say thay Everton’s odds are 1.85, vs. Manchester United’s odds are 2.00.

If you want to bet £100 on Everton to win the Asian Handicap -0.5 (leading by betting market), there will be three cases:

• If Everton win, you win;
• If Everton win or the match is drawn, you lose.

Conversely, if you bet £100 on Manchester United to win Asia +0.5 (leading team in the betting market), then:

• If Manchester United win or the match is drawn, you win;

• If Manchester United win, you lose.

Read more: What are If Bets and How Do If Bets Work?

Asian Handicap Quarter Lines

Quadrants are different from full and half-lines, as they have values ​​ending in .25 or .75 (between +/- 0.25, 0.75, 1.25, 1.75, 2,25, ...). Quarter lines may be covered for certain outcomes, so the odds are usually higher.

Asian Handicap quarter lines -0.25 means players betting that a team with a negative Asian Handicap value will start the match at a -0.25 disadvantageous goal, there will be 3 cases:

• The gamblers will win if the betting team wins the game.
• If the team loses, bettors lose their bet
• If the match ends in a draw, they get half of their stake back.

Example: Let's say the match starts with a score of 0 - 0.25, the weaker team takes a 1/4 goal lead before the game begins with Liverpool odd is 2.00 and Southhampton odd is 1.90.

If you bet £100 on Liverpool to win the Asian Handicap -0.25:

• If Liverpool win, you win;
• If it's a draw, you only get half of your bet (£50);
• If Liverpool wins, you lose.

Conversely, if you bet £100 on Southhampton to win with a +0.25 handicap:

• If Southhampton wins, you win;
• If it's a draw, you get half your bet back and win an extra £50 at 1.90 odds;

• If Southhampton loses, you lose.

With a quarter line of -0.75, the betting team will start the match at a disadvantage of -0.75 goals.

• Players win if the betting team wins with at least two goals. However, if they win with a goal, the stake is divided so that the gamblers get their money back on half of the bet while they win the other half.
• If the team loses or draws, the gamblers lose. The situation will reverse if you bet on a positive quarter line in Asian handicap betting.

Example: In the case of bets on the match starting with 0: 0.75, the weaker team has to face a 1/4 goal before the game begins.

Let's say that Tottenham’s odds are 1.90, while Chelsea’s odds are 1.90.

Suppose you bet £100 on Tottenham to win +0.75 with the home team being the underdog. Therefore, Tottenham has a handicap of 0.75 goals.

• If Tottenham win or draw, you win;
• If Chelsea win by one goal, you only get half your bet (£50);
• If Chelsea wins by two or more goals, you lose.

You are betting £100 on Chelsea to win at -0.75 Asian Handicap. To win the bet, Chelsea needs to win by two goals or more:

• If Chelsea win by two goals or more, you win;
• If Chelsea win by one goal, you win half your bet (£50) and win the other half (£50 x 1.90);
• If the match ends in a draw or Tottenham wins, you lose.

What Does +0 Or -0 Mean In Asian Handicap?

Asian Handicap +0 or -0 is not the same as betting on the winner because there is no collateral advantage. This line involves pushing or returning the bet, the same as betting on "Draw no bet". There will be 2 cases:

1. The gamblers will get lower odds for either team to win a match

2. If the selected team does not succeed and the game ends in a draw, bettors will get their bet back as push turns.

With a +0 or -0 handicap line, the bet can be understood as follows:

• Winning team: Bet wins;
• Draw: Bet refunded;
• Losing team: Bet loses.

Example: Liverpool’s odd is 1.90, and Chelsea’s odd is 1.95. You are betting £100 for Liverpool on the Asian handicap 0.0; there will be 3 cases:

• If Liverpool wins, you win the bet;
• If the two teams draw, bets will be refunded;

• If Liverpool loses, you lose your bet.

Asian Handicap Tables

To help you better understand, below is a table explaining the asian lines betting where you will find the total handicap under different scenarios, including Underdogs and Favorites. In which possible bet outcomes include Win, Half Win, Push, Half Lose, or Lose.

Calculating Asian Handicap Betting Market Margins

The 100% market offers reasonable odds, with no advantage to the bettor or the house. When the market is undervalued, it gives gamblers certain benefits, which means that the odds are worth more than the probability of all possible outcomes. Conversely, if the market is higher than 100%, which is less than the total value, this gives the bookie advantage.

Therefore, to calculate the margin for a given betting market, first, we need to convert the decimal odds into a probability percentage.

Here is the formula to calculate bookie profit margin:

Margin = (1: Odds a + 1: Odds b + 1: Odds c…) – 1

For example: In the match between Manchester United and Arsenal, the bookie offers three odds of 1.6, 3.2, and 3.2 for three markets respectively, then:

Profit Margin = [(1/1.60) + (1/3.20) + (1/3.20)] – 1= 0.25= 25% - is the bookmaker’s profit margin.

This number means that anyone who joins will get 25% more than the lowest bookie dealer. This result serves as a benchmark for the possible outcomes of a match. Otherwise, the gamblers would not be able to keep a break-even for long.

This is just a specific calculation that we would like you to understand better, and you do not always need to calculate each step before placing a bet. As a result, betting platforms often display Market Margins or have automated calculators.

Asian Total Betting Explained

A bet on total goals in Asian Handicap (Asian Total) is similar to an over/under bet, with differences between the lines. However, in some cases, players will receive more money, specifically:

• Get 50% of your stake back if you lose half;
• Get 50% of your winnings if you win half.

Example: If you bet on lines purely on Asian totals on one goal, i.e.,:

• If the match has at least two goals, you win.
• If it's a goalless game, you lose.
• If the game has a goal, you will get your money back.
• If you bet less than one goal, you win a goalless match, get your money back with one goal and lose the bet if there are two or more goals.

Asian Total Half Lines

If you bet half lines on Asian total, only two possible outcomes: win or lose. You win if the match has at least one goal and lose if the game ends goalless. If you bet less than 0.5 goals, the refund will be reversed.

Total Goals Asian Handicap Tables

For a better understanding of how total goals are calculated, here is a summary table that will help you find the total Asian Handicap under different circumstances:

Which Sports Are Best For Asian Handicap?

If you are still getting acquainted with Asian Handicap, then football is the most suitable sport to try in the first bet. Besides, cricket, tennis, or hockey are also suitable sports to bet on Asian Handicap because the matches have lower scores. NHL matches may go to extra time, meaning a draw within the allotted time is possible. In particular, the nature of football and hockey is quite similar, making Asian Handicap a fair bet for these sports.

In addition, some other sports can also apply Asian Handicap. If gamblers select an NFL or NBA event, they can use the Asian Handicap to calculate the total.