How Asian Handicap Betting Works

Asian handicap betting can be hugely profitable, but only if you’re familiar with how it works. The experienced pro’s know how to play the bookies at their own game, but naive beginners can lose out by making ill informed choices. If you’re new to this form of betting then you’ve come to the right place, before you place your first bet check out this Asian handicap guide to get you started. Once you’ve grasped the basics it can be a very exciting and lucrative option for your betting portfolio.

Asian handicap explained

Asian handicap is a form of spread betting that originated in Indonesia. Recently it’s gained traction in the west and has become a popular option for football bets in particular. Depending on a teams recent form it will receive a handicap, with the better performing team then requiring more goals in order to win the bet. This eliminates the chance of a tie, as in this case, the team with poorer form would win the bet.

This method of betting is particularly popular when teams who are unevenly matched play against each other. In some cases such as FA cup clashes between a premier league and low division club, the premier league side may have a handicap of 2.5 or 3 goals, making the game more enjoyable and exciting to watch.

In brief Asian handicap offers the following:

    • 2-way betting – eliminating option of a draw
    • Underdog advantage to make the game a level playing field
    • Similar odds for both possible outcomes

Asian handicap betting strategy

This won’t work for everyone, but when I’m looking to place some bets using the Asian handicap method I employ the following tactics.

  1. Take a look at the fixture list – identify all possible matches where you think the favourite could have a convincing victory.
  2. Look online for tips – often professional gamblers have active twitter feeds and blogs explaining their picks for this weekends fixtures. While you shouldn’t always follow someone else’s advice, it can offer valuable reassurance that your picks are in the right ball park. Also they might have seen something you haven’t spotted.
  3. Check the form – Before you place your bet take some time to do a bit of research on the teams form. This doesn’t need to take forever, a quick look at the teams stats and defensive record will lead to cementing or discarding your choices. I then follow the same procedure for the opposing team, just to ensure they don’t have have a rock hard defence or an on form striker that could throw a spanner in the works.
  4. Place your bet – Now for the fun part. Before placing any bet I check the handicaps across a variety of betting sites to ensure I’m getting the best deal.
  5. Sit back and enjoy the match – When you’ve got money on a game it means more, especially when the teams are mismatched and you could be otherwise pretty confident as to the result.

Asian handicap FAQ’s

Do you have to overcome the handicap to win your bet?
In short – yes! If you place a bet on Chelsea at -2.5 then they will need to win the match by 3 goals for you to win your bet. Similarly if Rotherham United are -2.5 they will win the match if they are defeated by under 3 goals. As you can see this adds an exciting element to a match that would be otherwise seen as an easy win for Chelsea.

How many handicaps are there in a game?
Each game has an opposing positive and negative handicap available to bet on. So for example Chelsea could be +2 and Rotherham – 2. Although the handicaps are the same, the odds for each of these handicaps will differ.

Are Asian handicap bets only available on mismatched games?
No – Asian handicaps are available on a variety of games, even those that are likely to be much closer. However, in these games the handicaps given to each team will be smaller, any may even be +0 in the case of a very equal game.

Do any other sports offer Asian Handicap?
Yes – although traditionally used in football Asian handicap is expanding to other games like rugby and baseball.