You may have heard about Asian Handicap before, but perhaps do not know exactly what it is. This useful guide will lead you through the intricacies of this type of bet, which is in fact a very accessible way of betting and handy for players betting on uneven fixtures.
What is Asian Handicap?
If you’re having trouble with simpler forms of betting, we’d suggest you take a look at our guides on how to bet on sport, then popping back later to learn about Asian Handicap betting.
Asian Handicap is a kind of bet that can be placed on a wide variety of sports. It’s a way to even out the imbalance that may occur when two teams playing each other have.
EXAMPLE:
Southampton vs Newport in the FA Cup. If these two teams were to play each other, you’d expect Southampton to have shorter odds as they’re the clear favourite in this scenario. So, betting on Southampton to win, draw or lose (also, known as the 1X2 bet) doesn’t seem particularly attractive. Cue Asian Handicap – a type of bet that equalises odds by evening out the scoreline. By levelling out the odds of both teams towards Evens, the probability of a winning bet comes closer to 50%. By establishing a handicap on a team winning or losing by adding to or subtracting from the amount of goals scored, Asian Handicap comes in to play by giving you the chance to win your wager back, should your chosen team not exceed or fall below your handicap mark.
One of the most attractive aspects of Asian Handicap betting is that it reduces your chances of losing. Owing to the fact that a draw is a very common outcome in football, the Asian Handicap protects you from this result.
How does Asian Handicap work?
In the unpredictable world of sports betting, there are at times, some very equal contests. Although, as mentioned in the section above, be it NFL, golf, tennis or football, we often see stronger teams or players face teams and players less likely to win. In this situation, the odds of the favourites to win are so short, it makes placing a bet on the favourite to win a less lucrative option.
Hence, Asian Handicap was born as a way of providing balance to an uneven contest and give players the chance to loosely follow the 1X2 form of betting.
Asian Handicap betting is comparable to standard handicap betting, where one team or player is offered a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage
Asian Handicap Full Lines
Let’s take a look at Asian Handicap full lines, what they are, and how Asian Handicap full lines can be beneficial to you as a sports bettor.
EXAMPLE 1:
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace. Tottenham are priced at 1.30 to win, Crystal Palace are priced at 9.00 to win and it’s 5.50 for a draw. In this situation, Tottenham are the obvious choice for winning the match. You can boost the odds of a Tottenham win by betting on ‘Tottenham -1’, at odds of 1.80. In this situation, you win the bet if Tottenham win by a minimum of two goals and lose should the final result be draw or lose. The most important thing is that if Tottenham do win by 1 goal, your stake is returned.
This is where an Asian Handicap bet differs from regular handicap betting.
EXAMPLE 2:
If you were to bet on ‘Crystal Palace +2’, you’ll lose your bet should Crystal Palace lose by 3 or more goals. If they lose by two goals, your stake will be returned and should they lose from a maximum of one goal, you win.
EXAMPLE 3:
Chelsea vs Tottenham. More of an even match-up this time. You can minimise the risk of the 1X2 betting format to just two outcomes by using Asian Handicap 0. If the team you’re backing wins, you win your bet. In the situation of a draw, you’ll get our money back, similar to if you were betting on ‘Draw no bet’.
Asian Handicap Half Lines
As with full lines, Asian Handicap also gives you the opportunity to bet on half lines.
Half lines are different from full lines as they cover values ending in .5 and range between +/- 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 etc.
EXAMPLE 1:
Betting with the Asian Handicap half line of +0.5 means that the team you place your wager on begin the match with a positive handicap of a 0.5 goal advantage. In this sequence events, you win your bet if the outcome is a win or a draw. In turn, if your team loses, you’ll lose your bet.
EXAMPLE 2:
If you bet on +1.5, the team you’re backing begins the match with a 1.5 goal lead. Your bet will be successful should the team win, draw or lose by a maximum of one goal. If the team lose the match by two or more goals, your bet will be unsuccessful. Negative half lines with Asian Handicap betting works in exactly the same way, just the other way around.
Asian Handicap Quarter Lines
The difference with Asian Handicap quarter lines is that they hold values that end with .25 or .75 and will range from +/- 0.25, 0.75, 1.25, 1.75, and onwards.
The uniqueness of Asian Handicap quarter lines is that your bet can be protected from certain scenarios but not as much as half lines, so you’re getting better odds.
EXAMPLE 1:
Betting with an Asian Handicap quarter line of -0.25 means that you’re betting on a team that starts with a disadvantage of -0.25 goals. You’re now looking at outcomes that if the team you’re backing wins, you win your bet. If the team loses, you lose your bet and draw results in returning half of your original stake.
EXAMPLE 2:
Let’s take a look at a –0.75 quarter line Asian Handicap bet. As above, you’re getting odds of the team you’re betting on starting the match with a -0.75-goal handicap. Should the team you’re betting on win by at least two goals, you win your bet. If they win by one goal, your bet gets split in half, resulting in you getting half of your stake back while the other half wins. Should your team lose or draw, you lose your bet. This scenario will be reversed should you bet on a positive quarter line with the Asian Handicap bet.
Check out our quick guide on Asian handicap lines for more examples.
Asian Total Betting
So, what is Asian total?
Asian total is the equivalent of over/under betting, although the difference lies with the lines available to bet on being over/under 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5 etc.
EXAMPLE:
Manchester City vs Norwich. If you decide to bet on full lines in Asian total, let’s say, for over one goal, this means you win if at least two goals are scored during the match. If the final result is 0-0, you lose your bet. If the outcome is one goal in the match, you’ll have your stake returned. If you were to bet on under one goal for Manchester city vs Norwich, if it’s still 0-0 at full time, your money is returned but you will lose your bet should two or more goals be scored.
Asian Total Half and Quarter Lines
If you make the decision to bet on half lines in Asian total, such as over 0.5 goals, there are only two possible results to expect – win or lose. If, during the match, at least one goal is scored, you win. Should it be a goalless match, it’s a losing bet. If you bet under 0.5 goals, the payback will be reversed.
Now – quarter line betting in Asian total. Let’s say you place a bet on over 0.75 goals – you'll have a winning bet if at least two goals are scored during the game. In the situation that there’s only one goal scored, you’ll take back half your bet and if no one scores during the match, you lose your stake. On the flipside, if you wager on under 0.75 goals, again, the payback is reversed. 0-0 at full time will result in a winning bet, one goal scored will see you lose half your bet and with two or more goals, you lose your bet completely.
If you’d like more information on Asian Handicap betting, you can join our friendly Unibet community, and ask any questions you may have there.
The Best Sports for Asian Handicap
If you’re a beginner to online betting in general, and if you’re reading this, you probably are. So, which sports are best for Asian Handicap betting?
Football: due to the high probability of a draw, football should probably be your first choice when considering Asian handicap betting as it gives you the chance to cover this possible outcome.
Other sports such as cricket and rugby could potentially end in a draw but it’s a much less likely outcome and therefore not the first choice for Asian handicap betting.
Sports with typically large point totals such as basketball and netball are strong contenders for Asian total betting markets.