European Handicap Betting

European Handicaps Explained

The European Handicap market can be used to place bets on a variety of sports, with football being the most popular, which is what we will focus on in this article. Like the Asian Handicap market, it works by deducting or adding a number of goals to a team's score at the end of the game, and the result of the bet is then calculated after this adjustment has been made.

The final thing to mention is the final difference between this market and the Asian Handicap market, which is that if you bet on a team to win or lose with a full number handicap and the game turns out to be a draw after the handicap has been applied, your bet will lose. In the Asian Handicap market, your stake will be refunded if the game results in a draw.

European Handicap bet results explained

Now, we will show some of the different European Handicap bets you can place and explain whether they will result in a winning or losing bet.

The table displays various betting options.

The first three columns show the results after a one-goal handicap is applied.

The next three columns show the results after a two-goal handicap is applied.

Liverpool is the home team, so their score is first in the final score column

So let's take a look at the results. Firstly, we will examine the Liverpool 0:1 column, where you bet on Liverpool to win after a goal has been deducted from their score.

As you can see, if the game finishes as a draw, the one goal taken from Liverpool’s score means that they have now lost the game as they have failed to beat the handicap.

With a 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1 victory, they have won by two clear goals, so they have beaten the handicap, and your bet would win.

Next, let's examine the draw 0:1 column, remembering that you are betting on the game ending in a draw after the handicap. As you can see, if the game ends in a draw, once the handicap is applied, it changes the scoreline to a Wolves victory, so your bet would lose.

However, with a 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 scoreline, the one goal added to Wolves' scoreline would now mean the results would be changed to 1-1,2-2 and 3-3, so your bet wins.

Finally, we will examine the Wolves 0:2 column, which indicates that you are betting on them to win once two goals have been added to their final score. As you can see in most examples, your bet wins; however, with a 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1 score line, the two-goal boost isn't enough to give them a win, so your bet would lose.

Real examples of European Handicap bets Available Online in Malaysia

So let's look at an upcoming Premier League Fixture to show you how the odds can change drastically once you start betting on a team with a handicap.

For this example, we have picked the match between Manchester City and Burnley. Manchester City are at home and strong favourites to win

In the standard 1x2 market, the odds are shown below. Where you can see Burnley are very much the outsiders.

So let's look at some handicap examples and how the odds change.

So as you can see, Manchester City's odds with the handicap have lengthened to 1.52. This is because they now need to not only win but win by two clear goals to overcome the 0:1 handicap.

Burnley, of course, with the head start, now have more chance of getting a draw, so their odds have dropped to 4.4, meaning a one-goal defeat will be enough to win this bet.

The odds on Burnley winning have massively reduced to 4.9. If they manage to get a draw, the one-goal boost will be enough for your bet to win.

Next, we shall look at the 0:2 market.

So here we can see Manchester City’s odds have lengthened even further as they now need to win by three clear goals for your bet to win.

Burnley's odds of winning are now very close to those of Manchester City as they are getting a two-goal boost.

The odds of the draw have shortened slightly, suggesting that the bookmaker believes Burnley is more likely to lose by two goals than by one goal. For your bet to win, of course, they need to lose by exactly two goals.

Finally, we will look at the 0:3 market.

As you can see here, Man City are only being given a 3 in 1 chance of winning, with odds of 4.0, as they now need to win by a 4-goal margin.

Burnley, now with a three-goal boost, have had their odds shortened to 1.57, suggesting the sportsbook doesn't expect them to lose that heavily.

The odds of the draw have also lengthened as they believe it's less likely they will lose by exactly three goals.

Tips and Strategies for European Handicap betting

The best tip you will ever get in betting is to do your own research before placing a bet. With the European Handicap, you are always looking for a team to overcome a handicap or win with an advantage.

One strategy is to look for matches where there is a significant difference in quality between the teams, and then identify the odds that offer the best value. If you believe there is a game where a team is likely to win by a large margin. Betting on them at 0:1, you would only need them to win by two goals, and the odds will be better than on the 1x2 market.

You can then look further and see if you can find reasons betting on them at 0:2 would be a better choice.

One way to do this would be to examine the team's form and any recent team news for further information, which can help you feel more confident about a big win. You should look for information, such as checking to see how often the team wins by two or more goals. Do they tend to win more when playing at home, and the upcoming game is at home? Have they been winning big despite a star striker being injured or suspended, who is returning and only likely to improve the team's results?

If you are looking to place a bet on an outsider, then you should be looking for similar information but this time you would maybe check to see if the favourite wins big at home but doesnt tend to do so well away from home, Maybe their top scorer or key midfielder is out injured or suspened meaning the team may still be stong favourites but less likely to win big so in this case a bet on the outsider might be the better option.

European and Asian Handicaps compared: Which One is Better?

The European Handicap is certainly better for beginners as it only works in whole numbers and is very easy to understand. However, without half and quarter numbers, there are fewer betting options. The European Handicap gives you the option of betting on a draw; you don't get that option with the Asian Handicap.

As you can see, for each advantage there is also a downside. Ultimately, it comes down to your individual preference on which one is better.

Conclusion

The European Handicap market certainly has its place; it's certainly the best handicap market for beginners. It's perfect for when you want to bet on a favourite with improved odds or give an outsider a better chance of winning.