The Asian Handicap System is a form of betting offered by bookmakers which allows you to effectively reduce your risk. Basically, if you are backing a team that has an “Asian Handicap” of +0.5 goals, then this means that should they lose the game, they will have to concede at least one goal for you to lose your bet.
If, however, you are backing a team that has an Asian Handicap of -0.5 goals, then this means that should they lose the game, they can win but still fail to score, resulting in your wager winning. Obviously, there are other possibilities, such as them winning by exactly 1 goal or winning 2-0, etc.
As mentioned earlier, the main benefit of this form of betting is that you can bet on a team at an online bookmakers such as fun 88 and reduce your risk by effectively laying (betting against) them to fail to win the game.
Examples of the Asian Handicap System
Let’s say, for example, that Manchester City are playing against Wigan away from home, and the bookmakers have set the line as follows:
Manchester City (-1) @ 1.70 (odds expressed in decimals)
Wigan (+1) DNB (Draw No Bet) @ 2.05
This means that if you place a tenner on Manchester City at odds of 1.70, they will have to beat Wigan by at least two goals for you to win your bet; otherwise, it will be a draw or win for Wigan, resulting in a loss.
As you can see from the odds, the bookmaker is favoring Manchester City to win by a goal or two, so if you lay them at 1.70 and they lose 0-1, for example, you will still win your bet as opposed to if you had just straight-up bet on Wigan (+0).
You could have bet on either team, really, but going against Man City with an Asian Handicap makes sense given that they are a stronger side, and this reduces your risk of losing the wager. This is the case even though your payout percentage is lower than it would be had you simply picked Wigan.
You could also use this handicapping system when betting on the outright result (final scoreline) rather than for individual match outcomes. Let’s say Manchester City are playing Wigan away from home, and you want to bet on the final result.
Man City -1 @ 1.70 (for example)
As above, if you place a tenner on Man City at odds of 1.70, they will need to win or draw for your bet to be successful, whereas Wigan (+1) DNB @ 2.05 means that they can lose 0-1, 0-2, etc… and you still win the bet which reduces your risk compared to betting straight up on the outright winner (Manchester City in this instance). You could also do things like Man City & Over 3.5 goals @ 4/7
You could bet because even though you’re betting against them winning the game, you’re getting a good price on the over 3.5 goals bet.
The Asian Handicap is a handy tool to have in your arsenal when betting and can be used across various sports to reduce risk/ increase return on investment depending on how confident you are that one team will beat another by a certain number of goals or points etc.
In the example above, Man City -1 @ 1.70 would win because Wigan failed to win or draw the match. If the bookie’s odds had been: Man City -0.5 @ 2.85 Wigan +0.5 @ 1.95, then even if Manchester City won 0-1, for example, the bet would be a draw resulting in no winnings.
Where do I bet on Asian Handicaps?
All modern betting sites that offer football betting will allow you to bet with an Asian Handicap, but if you’re struggling to find one, simply type “Asian handicap” into Google, and your bookie of choice should come up at the top of the listings.
Types of Asian Betting Markets
The below are all examples of Asian Handicap bets available for nearly every sport under the sun:
- Exact Score Market
- Both Teams to Score (BTTS)
- Half Time/Full-Time Bets (HT/FT)
- Winning Margin market
- Total Match Goals Under/Over
Advantages of the Asian Handicap System
There are several advantages of using the Asian Handicap system when betting.
1) You can get better odds – The general rule is that the closer the handicaps are to one goal, the higher percentage of your stake you will win for each correct bet. If you think a team is only going to lose by one goal, then this should increase your chances of winning which means that you may be able to get better odds on your selection than if you had just placed a straight-up bet.
2) It reduces variance – Since you’re betting on something other than the win, draw, or loss of the game, you’re reducing your chances of losing money for no reason (massive results can happen in sport that isn’t directly correlated with who’s better/worse).
3) You can bet both sides – Since you can bet in-play and, in many cases, before the game even starts, then this opens up the opportunity for what’s known as betting ‘both sides.
Disadvantages of the Asian Handicap System
However, punters need to be aware of some disadvantages to using the Asian handicap system before placing a bet.
1) You can lose even when your team wins – Having said above that betting with an Asian Handicap means you will always get at least part of your stake back if you correctly predict the correct result, this isn’t always true because bookmakers can sometimes find ways to reduce/remove their payouts on these markets.
2) It’s not as simple as it seems – Betting with an Asian Handicap requires precise knowledge and understanding and can be a complicated process if you don’t know what to look for.
3) It’s not available in every market – As recently as 5-10 years ago betting with an Asian Handicap was considered very niche and was only available in the more obscure markets, however nowadays it is becoming more widely used so you should have no problems finding a bookie willing to take your bet.