Asian Handicap Betting
Asian Handicap Betting is massively popular across South-East Asia, including Malaysia. This guide covers everything you need to know about Asian Handicap betting. We will cover exactly what Asian Handicap is and why the market was created. With examples, we will cover the various types of Asian Handicap bets, as well as the various pros and cons of Asian Handicap betting. We will explain some common strategies used when betting in this market and offer some tips to help you pick a winning bet.
Asian Handicap Explained
The Asian Handicap market can be used to place bets on many sports, but the most popular sport for this market is Football, and that's what we will focus on in this article.
By doing this, it allows you to bet on an outsider with more favourable odds as they not only need to win but also need to overcome the handicap. When giving an underdog a head start, the odds will be shorter than a standard 1x2 bet, but with this advantage, there is a greater chance of them winning.
The market can seem complicated at first, and certain options are more complicated than others, but with this guide, you will find out all you need to understand the market fully.
How to place an Asian Handicap Bet
So, how do you place a bet on the Asian Handicap market? The steps below will show you what you need to do in order to place a bet on this Market.
- Select a site from our list of partners on this page and click the icon to be directed to their homepage.
- Click on the register or similar icon to begin the process of joining the sportsbook.
- Complete the registration process, ensuring all the information you input is correct, as you may be asked to confirm your phone number, address or email address.
- Once you have completed the registration process, you will need to deposit money into your account. Do this by heading to the account section, selecting your preferred payment method and amount and making a deposit.
- Now you can place your bet. Head to the sports section, choose your preferred football league, find the match you wish to bet on, and click on that match.
- Scroll down to find the correct market and click on the odds which are next to the bet you wish to place. This should put the bet into your betslip. Enter the amount you wish to bet and confirm the bet.
- Hopefully, sit back back enjoy the game and hope your bet wins.
What types of Asian Handicap bets are there?
There are three types of handicap bets, which get a little more complicated as the list continues. It’s important to learn about all of them, as they all have their place if you want to expand your betting options when wanting to place a bet on a football match.
- Whole Number Handicaps - The simplest type of Asian Handicap bet, which gives a team a specified number of goals head start, for example, +1 or +2, or deducts from their final score, shown as -1 or -2. This is the only type of handicap bet where your bet could result in a “push” and your whole stake would be refunded. This would happen if you bet on a team to win with a -1 handicap, as shown in the table below, your money would be refunded if they win by 1 goal. A two-goal or better victory would mean they have beaten the handicap of -1, and your bet wins. Any other score would result in your bet losing.
- Half Number Handicaps- Although these may look a little more confusing, they're not. The .5 actually means that no game can end in a draw, so there's no chance of getting your money back; your bet can only win or lose. This time, let's say you backed a team to win with a -0.5 handicap. Only half a goal is removed from their final score, so any win is still a win. If it were -1.5, they would need to beat that number and win by 2 clear goals.
- Quarter Number Handicap- Also known as split handicaps, is the most complicated type of Asian Handicap. In this market, your stake is split between two handicaps. This type of bet can be displayed in two different ways. The first is the quarter number, for example, -0.75.. Some sites display the market as -0.5 & -1.0. They both mean the same thing, and 50% of your stake is placed on each handicap. As you can see in the table below, this means not only is it possible to win or lose your bet, but you could get 50% of your stake back.
Handicap | Your Team wins by 2 | Your Team wins by 1 | Draw | Your Team loses by 1 | Your Team loses by 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
-2 | 100% Money Back | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-1.75 | 50% Money Back, 50% Win | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-1.5 | 100% Win | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-1.25 | 100% Win | 50% Money Back, 50% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-1 | 100% Win | 100% Money Back | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-0.75 | 100% Win | 50% Money Back, 50% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-0.5 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
-0.25 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 50% Money Back, 50% Loss | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
0 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Money Back | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
+0.25 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
+0.5 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Loss | 100% Loss |
+0.75 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 50% Money Back, 50% Loss | 100% Loss |
+1 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Money Back | 100% Loss |
+1.25 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Loss |
+1.5 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Loss |
+1.75 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 50% Money Back, 50% Loss |
+2 | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Win | 100% Money Back |
Real examples of Handicaps Available Online in Malaysia
So let's take a look at some actual examples of bets you could place. For this, we will examine the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Sunderland. In the standard 1x2 market, Manchester are favourites at 1.54, the draw is 4.2, and Sunderland are 5.4. The odds for each bet are in brackets below.
So let's consider a few handicap markets and how the odds are affected, and how the handicap may change the result.
Manchester United -1 (1.88) - Sunderland +1 (1.89)
First is a whole number handicap. You can see that with the 1 goal handicap, the odds on Manchester United winning have lengthened to 1.88, but the odds on Sunderland with the 1 goal boost have shortened to 1.89, making the odds virtually the same on both teams.
Game Result | Manchester United -1 | Sunderland +1 |
---|---|---|
Manchester United wins by two goals or more | Wins | Loses |
Manchester United wins by one goal | Stake refunded | Stake refunded |
Draw | Loses | Wins |
Any Sunderland Victory | Loses | Wins |
So if you had bet on Manchester United -1, you would of course still lose if the game was a draw or a Sunderland victory, as a one-goal win would be wiped out by the -1 handicap, resulting in the game being a draw and your stake refunded. If Manchester United wins by two or more goals, then they have overcome the handicap, and your bet wins
Next, we will look at the half-goal Handicap.
Manchester United -1.5 (2.41) - Sunderland +1.5 (1.55)
In this example, as the handicap has increased on Manchester United, you can see their odds have lengthened even further. Sunderland's odds have reduced to the point that they are now favourites.
Game Result | Manchester United -1.5 | Sunderland +1.5 |
---|---|---|
Manchester United wins by two goals or more | Wins | Loses |
Manchester United wins by one goal | Loses | Wins |
Draw | Loses | Wins |
Any Sunderland Victory | Loses | Wins |
As the table shows, this would mean that to win a bet on Manchester United, Manchester would need to win by two or more goals; any other result would result in a loss of your bet. If you had bet on Sunderland, they could afford to lose by one goal, and your bet still wins. But any worse than that and your bet loses.
Finally, the more complicated quarter goal handicap.
Manchester United -1.75 (2.85) - Sunderland +1.75 (1.41)
As you can see, once again, as the handicap has increased, Manchester United’s odds have lengthened and Sunderland's have shortened.
Game Result | Manchester United -1.75 | Sunderland +1.75 |
---|---|---|
Manchester United wins by three goals or more | Wins | Loses |
Manchester United wins by two goals | 50% of Stake Refunded | 50% of Stake Redunded |
Manchester United wins by one goal | Loses | Wins |
Draw | Loses | Wins |
Any Sunderland Victory | Loses | Wins |
So in this example, remember that your bet has been split between -1.5 and -2 or +1.5 and +2.0. In the examples where Manchester has won by 2, this means your -2 or +2 side of the bet has pushed, resulting in 50% of your stake being returned. The 1.5 part of the bet has lost in both examples.
Asian Handicap Bonuses
Firstly and most importantly is to check the terms and conditions of all bonuses; sometimes Asian Handicap bets are excluded from bonuses. All types can be excluded, and Asian Handicap will be mentioned in the terms and conditions as not qualifying for the bonus.
However, on some occasions, it isn’t mentioned by name, and only certain types of Asian Handicap bets could be excluded based on the result of the game your bet is placed on.
This may sound complicated, but you need to look for a line in the terms and conditions that says something like.” In order for your bet to qualify for the bonus, your bet must be settled as a win or loss”
What this means is if you were to bet on a team with a -1 handicap and they win by one goal, your stake would get refunded, meaning it hasn’t been settled as a win or loss and not qualify, however the same bet would qualify if your team won by two goals as they would have beaten the -1 handicap and the bet would be settled as a win.
So it's very important to check the terms and conditions of each offer.
- 1
First-Deposit Bonus
This type of bonus is also referred to as a Welcome Bonus. The offer would likely read something like 100% Deposit Match up to 600 Ringgit.
What this means is that if you deposit up to 600, you will be rewarded with a 600 bonus, giving you a balance of 1200 Ringgit. But before being able to keep the extra 600, there will be wagering requirements. These will be something like the bonus must be wagered 5 times, meaning you would need to place 600 x 5 = 3000 worth of bets before being able to keep the bonus money.
This is where you must be careful when placing Asian Handicap bets when trying to clear the wagering, as we explained above, check to make sure that they are not excluded from the bonus.
- 2
Free Bets
Free bet offers are also popular and often appear during big sporting events and involve placing a bet on a certain tournament to get a Free Bet.
A typical example of this type of offer would be to place a bet of up to 100 Ringgit on a specific game to get a Free Bet of up to 100 Ringgit.
Offers have small differences, but there are usually odd restrictions like the bet must be placed at odds of 2.0 or greater, and this again is where you need to check that Asian Handicap bets are not excluded from the offer.
Whether the bet wins or loses, you will then get rewarded with the 100 Free Bet to then use as stake money on another bet. You won't get to keep the 100, but you will get to keep any winnings from the bet.
- 3
Cashback Bonus
A cashback bonus returns a portion of your stake if your bet loses. This can be used as cash to use as you please, but sometimes it's returned as a Free Bet. The bonus headline will look something like a 25% Cashback bonus up to 100 Ringgit. So, if you placed a 400 bet and it lost, you would receive a 100 Ringgit refund.
- 4
Reload Bonuses.
These bonuses work in exactly the same way as a First Deposit Bonus, except they are offered to existing customers who “reload” their account by making a new deposit.
- 5
Accumulator Bonuses.
Common at many sites for existing customers, Accumulator bets involve placing a bet on 2 or more games within the same bet. Sites often offer a percentage boost on your winnings. The more games you add to your bet, the higher the percentage boost will be.
Tips and Strategies for Asian Handicap betting
Doing your own research is always the best Strategy before placing any bet. This can be very important when picking an Asian Handicap bet.
Remember to point of the market is to balance the odds between two teams where one is a strong favourite.
One of the best tips is to look for games where a team is expected to win big and then look for a reason, whether you think it will happen or not.
Let's say you have a team that's just won their previous two games at home by a number of goals. However, their last away fixture they won 1-0, the previous away game to that was a 2-1 victory. In the upcoming game, they are away from home, and they seem not to win as well away from home. Betting on their opponents at +2 could be a good bet.
Maybe a team has only been winning by the odd goal, but their star striker is returning from suspension. Is he likely to return with the same form, leading to a big win for the team, so betting on them with a -1 handicap, they should overcome it.
If a team hasn’t lost for a while and tends to draw a lot of games, betting on them to win at +0.5 means that if they get another draw or avoid defeat, the +0.5 will be enough for your bet to win.
These are just a few scenarios; the more research you have time for, the better. Of course, you won't get it right every time, but with experience, you will hopefully learn to pick the correct bets.
Pros & Cons of Asian Handicap Betting
- Better odds when betting on a favourite.
- Stake or a portion of your stake can be returned rather than lost in some situations
- Better chance of winning a bet when betting on an outsider
- Half and quarter handicap bets remove the draw option. Meaning you have a 50/50 chance to win compared with a 1 in 3 chance in the 1x2 market
- Shorter odds when betting on an outsider
- It can be tricky for beginners to understand.
Conclusion
This guide should provide you with all the information you need to know about Asian Handicap betting. Don’t worry if your first bet doesn't work out. The Asian Handicap market, although in some ways looks more complicated, sticking with it will add a whole range of betting options for you. Start with small wagers while you are gaining experience and keep a record of your results. As you place more bets, you will learn to spot the games which are perfect for this market, and this will hopefully lead to you winning more bets than you lose.
FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions
💡 Why is it called an “Asian” Handicap?
The term was invented in the 1990s. When Jod Phan, an Indonesian Bookmaker, asked a Journalist called Joe Saumarez Smith to provide a translation for the betting term `hang cheng betting` and Asian Handicap was his suggestion.
💡 Why was the Asian Handicap Market Evented?
Asian Handicap Betting is a type of betting market that aims to provide more favourable odds when there is a strong favourite in a match between two teams, allowing you to bet on a favourite with longer odds than the 1x2 market, but they must overcome a handicap.
💡 How does Asian Handicap betting Work?
Asian Handicap betting works by giving a favourite a handicap or an outsider an advantage to the number of goals they have scored in a match. When the game is finished, this figure is added or deducted from the goals scored, and the bet is settled based on the new scoreline.
💡 Can I bet on the Asian Handicap market in-play?
Yes, most sites will allow you to place live bets on the Asian Handicap market. It will differ from site to site, but most sites will allow it.
💡 What does the +/- mean in the Asian Handicap Market?
The plus or minus sign before the number in the Asian Handicap market indicates whether goals will be added (+) or removed (-) from the total goals the team has scored at the end of the game.