Asian Handicaps are one of the smartest ways to bet on Football, and they are far easier to understand than you may think!
An Asian handicap is a two-way soccer bet that removes the draw as an option by giving one team a head start
Forget what you think you know, Asian Handicaps are a simple and profitable way of betting on football.
The chances are evened up by giving one team a head start in terms of goals scored and removing the draw as an option.
That’s it. It genuinely is that easy.
You pick which team you think will win given the handicap and bet on them at a price around 2.0. They are hugely popular with high-rollers and pro gamblers because they turn every football match into a win or lose proposition with both teams given equal odds. As a result, the odds are consistently some of the best you will find on any match.
Granted, you might not immediately think something marked up as Arsenal (-0.0/0.5) was a simple option, but all it’s doing is reducing the game to a win/lose two-way market.
You don’t have to consider endless variables. You need to decide if the market is right or wrong about how the two teams match up.
The most common Asian Handicap market is one where one team is given a half goal head start. This will be displayed as Watford (+0.5) with the Hornets given a half goal head start, and Southampton (-0.5) with the Saints given a half goal handicap. A draw means the team with a half goal head start (+0.5) will win. So if you’ve bet on Watford, then either a draw or a win is a winner for you.
Asian Handicaps allow you to focus on how the two teams compare, but they can also bring one-sided games to life.
There is not much fun to be had betting on Chelsea winning at home to Norwich at 1.2, but a bet at evens on a -1.5 handicap gives you a much bigger priced bet to aim at.
And because they are the preferred bet of professionals and big punters, the odds have to be competitive.
The primary Asian Handicap market will almost always be the best value for money odds you can find on any football match, and it’s also a market that frequently gives you more than one chance to win…
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Another common market you will see is a full goal handicap.
The simplest example of this is if both teams are rated as equal chances to win, shown as Watford (0.0) Southampton (0.0). This means both teams start without any goal advantage. In this situation, a draw sees all stakes returned to players. So bet on Arsenal, and you win if they do or get your money back if they draw.
The other type of full goal handicap is where one team is rated much higher than the other and is given a big head start. If we take Southampton (-1) and Watford (+1), then if Soton win by exactly one goal, it’s a “handicap draw”, and all stakes would be returned. A 1-0, 2-1, or 3-2 win would see stakes refunded. This added flexibility makes Asian Handicaps such a great betting option.
You will also regularly find split handicaps, and this is where it gets fun. Take the example of Southampton (-0.0/0.5) and Watford (+0.0/0.5).
Wait, come back, it’s not hard to understand!
This is just two separate bets. Your stakes will be split between the two so a £10 bet on Southampton (-0.0/0.5) is really £5 on Southampton (0.0) and £5 on Southampton (-0.5).
If Southampton win you win the full £10 profit, and you get £5 returned if they draw. You may see this expressed as Southampton (-0.25), but it means the same thing.
On Matchbook this is always expressed as two bets so you can quickly and easily see what you are betting on.
These types of bets are really what Asian Handicaps are all about.
They give you massive flexibility in terms of how you want to bet on a game and at a consistent price of around 1.9.
It’s the smarter way to bet on Football.
Advantages of Asian Handicaps
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