Football Asian Handicap Explained

What is ASIAN HANDICAP?

Asian handicap is a way of betting that originates in Asia and mostly used in football. Handicap means that one team has a virtual lead over the other side.
AH betting reduces the possible number of outcomes from three (in traditional 1X2 wagering) to two by eliminating the draw outcome.

At first minus symbol (-) is used to represent a favorite team.
At last plus symbol (+) is used to represent an underdog team.

All things considered following table shows the most used Asian handicap lines, their outcomes depending on the team result, and an explanation for each line:

As seen bellow here is a list of the Football asian handicap markets with examples:

Asian Handicap 0.0:

Example : Manchester United odds are @1.85 – Manchester City odds are @1.8

You are betting £10 on Manchester United on the 0.0 Asian handicap football betting market.

Manchester United wins, you win the bet.

Draw occurs, your stake is refunded.

If Manchester United loses, you lose the bet.

By comparsion you may see some companies offer something like DNB, Draw no bet, or Level ball. These are the same bets with 0.0 AH.

0.25 Handicap Example:

For instance game starts with a score of 0 – 0.25 (1/4 goal handicap). The underdog team has a quarter goal lead before kick-off.

For example: Parma @2.00 – Frosinone @1.90

On this ocassion you are betting £10 on Parma to win the -0.25 Asian handicap market.

Parma wins, you win the bet.

The result is a draw, you lose half of the stake (£5), and the other half (£5) is back to you.

If Frosinone wins, the bet loses.

0.5 Handicap Example:

In this case, the game starts with a score of 0:0.5 (goal handicaps). The outsider team has the advantage of a half goal before kick-off.

For example: Persija @1.85 vs Borneo @2.00

You are betting £10 on Porto to win -0.5 Asian handicap. We use the minus symbol (-) if the team has the lead by the betting markets.

Persija wins, you win the bet.

If Borneo wins or the game ends in a draw, you lose the bet.

Persija to win and Persija -0.5 AH are the same bets and usually have the same odds.

0.75 Handicap Example:

Here the game starts with a score of 0:0.75 (3/4 goal handicap). The underdog team has a head start of a quarter goal before kick-off.

In this situation it is different from the 0.25 Asian handicap betting market with a slight exception.

For example: Barcelona @2.1 vs Real Madrid @1.90

You are betting £10 on Barcelona to win +0.75 Asian handicap.

The home team is the underdog.

If Barcelona wins or draws the game, you win the bet.
Real Madrid wins by one goal difference (0-1, 1-2, 2-3), you lose half of your stake (£5), and the other half (£5) returns to you.
R Madrid wins the game by two or more goals (0-2, 1-3, 0-3), you lose your stake.

-1 Handicap Example:

In this case, the match starts with a score of 0:1. The underdog team has a head start of one goal before kick-off (handicap 0:1).

For example: Napoli @1.80 vs Bologna @2.05

On this occasion you are betting £10 on Napoli to win -1 Asian handicap. To be a winner, that is to say you need Napoli to win by two or more goals (2-0, 3-0, 3-1).

Juventus wins by two or more goals, you win the bet.

If Juve wins by one goal (1:0, 2:1, 3:2), you get your money back.

Match ends in a draw or Bologna wins, you lose the bet.

-1.5 Handicap Example:

Here the game starts with the 0:1.5 line (handicap 1.5).

The underdog team has the advantage of a goal and a half before kick-off. There is no stake back in this market.

For example: Barcelona @1.90 vs Elche @4.00

In this situation you are betting £10 in Barcelona -1.5 AH. To win your bet, you need Barcelona to win with two or more goals difference. In any other case, you lose the bet.