What Does the Asian Handicap Mean in Betting?

Learn everything about the Asian Handicap meaning in betting. This sports betting term covers a large variety of markets which we described below.

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Asian Handicap Explained

If you visit online sportsbooks frequently, you might’ve seen the term ‘Asian Handicap’. It’s more popular in the Asia region, just as the name suggests.

Asian Handicap meaning is a way to equalize a football match where one team is far superior to the other, in terms of both statistics and skills.

A handicap or ‘Asian Handicap’ gives an advantage to the underdog before the match starts. Another reason why Asian Handicap predictions are so popular in Kenya is that it eliminates the possibility of a draw.

On matches that have handicaps applied, bettors can only wager on two outcomes. Either their favourite team wins or loses.

One key element of understanding Asian handicap tables is the signs attached to them.

The favorite team is given a minus (-) handicap and the underdog or less popular teams get a plus (+) handicap. We will cover more about how the signs affect your betting in our example section. So, keep reading.

Most Kenyan bettors don’t give much thought to how handicaps work. In the upcoming sections, we’re going to go deeper into the terms related to handicap meaning and how they work.

Types of Asian Handicap

In traditional practice, there are two types of handicaps that you’ll come across in online sportsbooks. The half-goal handicap and the whole-goal handicap.

The Settlement Score

The settlement score means the final score of a handicap-explained football match. This is the score sportsbooks use to settle the bets between winning and losing punters as opposed to the actual score of the game.

For example, if you’ve placed your bets in favour of Team A with a (-0.5) handicap and the team wins the match for 1 – 0, the settlement score would be 0.5 – 0.

It means the handicap of (-0.5) has been deducted from the 1 goal your team has scored. Team A still has the upper hand which means you’ve won your bet.

On the contrary, if the match was a draw, as in 0 – 0, you would’ve lost the bet because the settlement bet would be (-0.5) – 0.

Quarter Goal Handicaps

In Asian handicap predictions, the role of quarter-goal handicaps is crucial. It’s relatively more complex than half or whole-Asian handicap tables.

Essentially, when a bet is split in half and wagered in two handicaps at once, it’s called a quarter-goal handicap. These are denoted by -1/4 or (-0.25).

The fractions might differ based on what type of handicap the bookmaker is offering.

Using our previous example of Team A, if you wager KHs 1,000 on the handicap for the team -1.0 and -1.5, your bet will be split into KHs 500 for -1.0 and KHs 500 for -1.5. You’ll understand it more easily once we cover it again with a real-life example.

Void Bet

Remember how whole goal handicaps can refund all bets at times? That’s what the void bet is all about.

When the settlement score of a handicap-explained football match is concluded as a tie, the sportsbook is bound to return all bets to the backer and the layer. As no one won anything from this bet, it’s considered a void bet.

Alternative Asian Handicap

In conventional practices, the Asian handicap predictions hover between 0 and 1.5, both on the minus (-) and (+) spectrums. In alternative Asian handicaps, the concept remains the same.

The only thing that changes is the number of handicaps. You may see large numbers such as 2.5, 3.5, or even 3.75!

What is an Asian Handicap Example?

If you’ve read the post so far, you should develop a basic understanding of how Asian handicap predictions work. To encapsulate what you’ve learned so far, we’re going to go on an example spree in this section.

There is plenty of Asian handicap calculator on betting sites that you can use to understand it clearly.

0.0 Handicap

This might look counterintuitive to the concept of handicap. Many bettors even confuse it with outright bets.

However, in 0.0 handicap, there is no draw. If the team you’re backing wins, you win the bet. If your team loses, you lose your entire wager. In case of a tie, all bettors will get their stakes back.

For example, if you bet KHs 1,000 on Real Madrid with 1.90 odds and 0.0 handicap, you will win KHs 1,900 if Real Madrid wins. If it’s a draw, you get your KHs 1,000 back. If Real Madrid loses against the opponent, you lose the bet.

0.25 Asian Handicap

This is the quarter goal concept we’ve covered in our previous section. In a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona, let’s say the odds are 1.90 and 2.00, Barcelona is the favourite with a -0.25 handicap.

If you back to Barcelona, the following will happen with the quarter-goal handicap:

• If Barcelona wins the game, you win the bet.
• In case the settlement score is a draw, you get half of your bet back and the other half is lost.
• If Real Madrid wins the match, you lose the bet

On the other hand, if you’re backing Real Madrid, it means you’re playing with a +0.25 handicap. The following can happen:

• If Real Madrid wins, you win the bet.
• If the settlement score is a draw, you get half of your bet back as is. The other half will win at the 1.90 odds. It means you’re still in profit!
• If Barcelona wins outright, you lose the bet.

0.50 Asian Handicap

This is by far the most commonly used handicap in sportsbooks. The underdog gets a 0.5-goal lead before the kick-off.

In a match between Arsenal and Liverpool, let’s assume Arsenal is the underdog with +0.5 odds.

So, if Arsenal wins the match by 2-1, the settlement score would be 2.50 – 1 which is a clear win. If the match is drawn by 1-1, Arsenal still wins the bet because the settlement score would be 1.5 – 1.

If you’re backing Liverpool, you will always be -0.5 goals behind.

To win, Liverpool must win the match with at least 1 goal lead. Our Asian handicap tips would be to always stick to underdogs in such scenarios.

0.75 Handicap

This is essentially a quarter-goal handicap. However, the calculations will be slightly different from the 0.25 handicap.

Considering the match between Arsenal and Liverpool again, Arsenal gets a 0.75 goal advantage before kick-off.

The following situations can happen when you back to Arsenal:

• If Arsenal wins or draws the match, you win the bet.
• In case Liverpool wins by 1 goal lead (1-0, 2-1, 4-3), you lose 50% of your bet and get the other 50% back.
• If Liverpool wins the match with a 2 or more goals lead, you lose the bet.

1.0 Handicap

This is an example of whole-goal Asian handicap predictions. When the underdog team, Arsenal, in this case, is given an entire goal advantage before kick-off, the following might happen:

• If Arsenal wins, you win the bet.
• In case Liverpool wins by 1 goal, you get your stakes back because according to the settlement score, it’s a draw.
• If Liverpool wins by more than 1 goal, you lose the bet.

Best Asian Handicap Betting Sites

How To Place Asian Handicap Bets?

To place this type of bet you need to first understand the Asian handicap meaning. In Asian handicaps, the advantage is given to the underdog.

For example, you want to bet on Arsenal vs Liverpool. The odds are Arsenal 1,20 and Liverpool 2,00, the Asian handicap would probably look like this:

• Arsenal -1,5
• Liverpool +1,5

This means that if you want to place a bet on Arsenal, they need to score 2 or more goals for your betting ticket to win. However, in case Liverpool wins, or if it’s a draw, or Arsenal scores just one goal you will lose.

It’s important to point out that with a half-goal Asian handicap (1,5 or 0,5), there is always a clear winner of the game. But there is also a whole goal handicap (0 or 1).

In the case of a whole goal handicap, if the result of the match is a draw all bets are refunded. 

What is more, in some cases there are even quarter-goal handicaps which are two Asian handicaps on the same team. Therefore, your stake will be divided into two of these handicaps.

So, the bettor places a wager based on their opinion on which team could score a certain number of goals. This prediction can be based on the team’s current form, as well as statistics from previous matches.

Asian Handicap Conclusion

Asian handicaps can be interesting for all football fans who want to explore ways of placing a wager. What is more, there can be some interesting odds on the Asian handicap lines that are worth exploring. 

Asia Handicap Meaning in Betting FAQ