Traditional football match betting markets offer three options: home win, away win and draw, but Asian Handicap betting does away with the draw altogether by focusing on the difference between the two teams, theoretically balancing out the stronger team’s advantage.
There are many different kinds of Asian Handicap, ranging from a quarter goal handicap to a 1 ½ goal handicap, but they all operate on the same principle, and typically operate to smaller bookmaker margins, making them an option worth considering for all sports bettors.
Handicap - Full, Half lines
Asian Handicap betting with the half-line +0.5 means that the team that is bet on starts the match with a positive Asian Handicap value of a 0.5 goal lead.
Should the team selected to start the game with +0.5 win or draw then the bet would be settled as a win, but if the team loses then the bet is settled as a loss.
Another example would be if a team is selected to start with +1.5 or a 1.5 goal lead.
Should the team win, draw or lose by a maximum of one goal, the bet is settled as a win. However if the team loses by two or more goals, the bet is lost.
Asian Handicap betting with negative half-lines provide the same situations but in reverse.
Handicap - Quarter Lines
Asian Handicap betting with the quarter line -0.25 means that a team with this selected will start the game with a disadvantage of -0.25 goals. If the team wins the match, the bet is settled as a win.
Should the team lose, the bet is settled as a loss while a draw would result in half the stake being returned.
With the quarter line -0.75, the team selected will start the match with a disadvantage of -0.75 goals. If the team wins by at least two goals the bet is a settled as a win.
Should the team only win by one goal, the bet will be divided so the stake will be returned on half of the bet, while the other half will be settled as a win.
The bet would be settled as a loss if the team loses or if the match ends in a draw.
The scenario is reversed if a bet is placed on a positive quarter line in Asian Handicap betting.