About Asian Handicap

Asian Handicaps (AH) 

This Guide is a short introduction into the world of Asian Handicap for football betting. Many bookmakers offer Asian Handicap market as an alternative to the traditional “1X2” betting markets. You should include Asian Handicap into your punting strategies and explore using it as an alternative to 1X2 betting. 

What is it and how does it work?

Asian Handicap have taken football betting to a whole new level. With Asian Handicap, it eliminates the possibility of a draw in a soccer game. The underdog will be given a head start of a handicap pre-determined by bookmakers, and the favorite team will be handicapped by the same handicap. Since it eliminates the possibility of a draw, it increases your winning chance from 33.3% to 50% for every game.

The punter chooses which team to bet on using the offered handicaps- the underdog or the favourite. At the end of the match, the handicap is added to the team that the punter has backed, and the bet is settled. Let’s look at the following Asian Handicap example offered by a bookmaker: 

Chelsea vs Liverpool

Chelsea Handicap = -0.5, odds = 2.1

Liverpool Handicap = +0.5, odds = 1.9  

The final score of this match is Chelsea 0:0 Liverpool.

• If the punter bets on Chelsea, the handicap of -0.5 is added to the final Chelsea score, making the final score including the handicap -0.5:0. This means that Chelsea loses through the handicap and the punter loses his bet.
• If the punter bets on Liverpool, the handicap of +0.5 is added to the final Liverpool score, making the final score including the handicap 0:+0.5. This means that Liverpool wins through the handicap and the punter wins his bet. The returns for the bet is calculated using the offered odds, which is $190 returned for every $100 staked in this example.

What are the various kind of handicaps being offered?

If there are no clear favorites in a game, the handicap will be set to 0:0. Hence there will not be no head start of a handicap for any team.

Besides that, bookmakers generally offer handicaps in multiples of 0.5. Therefore, common handicaps are 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5…… 

What happens next if the equation is a draw after adding the handicap to the final result?

There is a special case that can happen whereby the handicap taken by the punter is a whole number (e.g. 0, 1, 2, 3). Let’s take a look at an example using the same fixture: 

Chelsea Handicap = -1, odds = 2.1
Liverpool Handicap = +1, odds = 1.9  

The final score of this match is Chelsea 1:0 Liverpool. 

After adding the handicap, the result of this match will be a draw; 0:0 if the punter backs Chelsea, or 1:1 if the punter backs Liverpool. For such situations where after adding the handicap into the final score results in a draw, the stakes will be returned to the punters. 

What about handicaps such as 0.25, 0.75, 1.25 or (0, 0.5) or 1/4? How do they work?

This is the latest addition to the traditional Asian Handicap market. The following handicaps in the table below are actually the same. They are represented differently as a result of the different preferences of the Hong Kong/China and Singaporean/Malaysian betting industry and community. 

When you stake a team using the (0, 0.5) handicap, you are effectively dividing your stake by betting half on the 0 handicap, and half on the 0.5 handicap. Let’s take a look at an example featuring the same teams again: 

Chelsea Handicap = -0.25, odds = 2.1
Liverpool Handicap = +0.25, odds = 1.9  

The final score of this match is Chelsea 0:0 Liverpool.  

The punter has bet £50 on Liverpool +0.25. To calculate his winnings or losses, we split the handicap and the stakes into two separate bets for an easier understanding:

1. Liverpool Handicap = 0, odds = 1.9, stake = £25;
2. Liverpool Handicap = +0.5, odds = 1.9, stake = £25.

For the first bet, the final score including the handicap is still 0:0, and therefore the stake of £25 is returned to the punter. For the second bet, the final score including the handicap is 0:0.5, and therefore the returns for this bet is 1.9 × £25 = £47.5 

The total returns for this bet is therefore £25 (from bet 1) + £47.5 (from bet 2) = £72.5 from a £50 bet.

For a more comprehensive picture, you may like to refer to the table as provided below:

What are the benefits of betting using the Asian Handicap over the traditional “1X2” market?

As mentioned earlier, a traditional “1X2” market for a football match is a 3-way bet, where your winning chance stands at 33.3%, whatever the odds. Whereas the Asian Handicap is a 2-way bet, where your winning chance stands at 50%. This means that punters should theoretically have a higher chance of winning their bets in the long run.  

However, it is important to note that the amount of profit margin assigned by a bookmaker to an Asian Handicap bet is usually much less than that assigned to a “1X2” bet. This is logical as the bookmaker is reducing his chances to beat you in the Asian Handicap market. Therefore, he has to compensate that by giving you a shorter odd.  

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