Football betting – Asian handicap

The Asian handicap betting method has grown in popularity in the last few years, especially in online football betting. This type of bet can be very profitable if used in a combined system. Asian handicap clears the possibility of an even result, differing from the fixed odds betting by allowing you to bet on one out of two possibilities, thus increasing the chances of winning from 33.3% to 50%.

There are various Asian handicap bets available, such as the -0.5/+0.5 handicap, the 1 handicap, the -1.5/+1.5, and so on, up to -4.5/+4.5. The fundamental principle of these bets is the same: if a team is considered to be favorite to win a game, the opponent team will receive a +0.5 (or +1 or +1.5) goal advantage at the end of the match. If the  match ends with an even result, then the second team is considered the winner by the bookmakers, since they received this + advantage. The first team wins the bet if it overcomes the -0.5 (or -1 or -1.5) handicap until the end of the game (90 minutes only – the extra time does not count).

The difference between the 0.5 handicap and 1 handicap is that in the case of the second type, one of the playing teams gets 1 goal in advance. If a team is considered favorite it gets a -1 handicap. A bet on the second team is lost when the first team wins by at least 2 goals. In the case of a 1-0 victory for the first team, the bet is refunded, since it is considered to be a draw.

The Asian handicap method can be used for betting on significantly larger amounts of money on single events, proving to be more profitable than the classic 1-x-2 method, due to the fact that the risks of losing are lower. If you intend to use this method in the future, it’s recommended that you study all the various subtypes of Asian handicap in order to choose the one which is right for the team(s) you’re willing to bet on. The rules of this method may look complex at first, but once understood, you will never want to use another betting type ever again.