Handicap Betting Guide

What is Handicap Betting?

We could be simplistic and say that the Handicap is about the difference in goals or points between one team and another. This is true, but it is not enough to understand all the possibilities this type of bet offers.

The word “handicap” means an obstacle. This gives us a better clue as to what that word means in the betting world, but it still ends up being a bit misleading if we take it literally.

This is because Handicap can be positive or negative. The numbers represented in this type of bet always work as a value that will be added or subtracted from the game’s final result.

You can bet on a -2 handicap for a solid team or a +2 for a fragile team, which risks being defeated. For example, betting on Barcelona victory is obvious in a hypothetical duel between Barcelona and Cardiff and will have extremely low odds. Therefore, you can bet that the goal difference between the teams will be huge to increase the value of your odds.

Why Bet on a Handicap?

This may sound too complicated to be worth it, but it turns out that the vast majority of seasoned players who make long-term gains have handicap bets as their big favorites.

This is because, in the long run, betting only on winners and losers makes you rely heavily on luck to be profitable.

Imagine that the odds of the favorite team will always be too low and those of the weaker team, despite being high, are very difficult to take advantage of. With handicap bets, players have the opportunity to always bet at attractive odds between 1.8 and 2.5 and have the possibility to refund Asian handicap bets.

To learn more about handicap betting, the first step is to understand that there are two types of these bets: Asian and European. Regarding their essential differences, the Asian offers the possibility of being refunded a bet for a draw. At the same time, the European Handicap only allows you to win or lose.

Asian Handicap Vs. European Handicap: What Is The Difference Between The Markets?

A necessary precaution when working with Handicaps is to understand that two types of Handicap markets are Asian and European. The big difference is that, in the Asian Handicap, you will have more line options and, above all, the possibility of having a bet returned.

Imagine, for example, a bet on a team with the -1.0 line. In the Asian Handicap, if that team wins by one goal difference, that bet would be returned. This is not the case with the European Handicap: that same bet would be lost.

Therefore, we recommend that you always stay alert and use Asian lines when betting. 

What is the Asian Handicap?

Since the subject requires a bit of reasoning, let’s start by talking about the most challenging type of Handicap, which is Asian. It is made more difficult because they are fractional numbers (0.5, 1.25, 1.5, etc.) and that in addition to the possibility of winning or losing the bet, the player can also have a part (or all) of it refunded to your account. Although it is more complicated, it is also considered the best type of handicap bet by most professional bettors.

And when do they return your bets? When the result added to the Handicap is equal to zero, the value cancels the bet, and the money returns to your account. In addition, the Asian Handicap provides several bet lines from which you can recover only half the bet or bet lines where you win half the total odds.

Here are some general examples of Asian handicap lines:

• Handicap +1: You win the bet if the team wins or draws the game. If the team loses by a goal difference, the bet is refunded to your account.
• Handicap +0.5: The bet is winning if the team wins or draws the game. If you lose by a goal difference, it is enough to lose the bet.
• Handicap -1: The winning result is a victory by 2 or more goals difference. If the team wins by a single goal, your bet is refunded.
• Handicap -1.5: To win the bet here, the team must necessarily score 2 or more goals difference, otherwise they will lose the bet.

The European Handicap Work?

Currently, the European Handicap is less used than the Asian one, and its reputation is not as good. Some bookmakers offer only the European Handicap as a betting possibility, something that varies a lot between each betting platform in India.

In any case, the European Handicap never shows split numbers and never offers the possibility to refund a bet. Your team is always obliged to win on the match result added to the selected Handicap. Here are some European handicap betting lines:

• Handicap +1: You win the bet if the team wins or draws.
• Handicap +2: winning bet if your team wins, loses by up to 1 goal difference, or in case of a tie.
• Handicap -1: The only winning result is victory by more than 1 goal difference, losing the bet in the case of 1 × 0, for example.
• Handicap -2: Here, only wins by more than 2 goals difference matters.

How Can I Win More Money With Handicap Bets?

There is one clear thing, and that is handicap betting is one of the ways to make money with sports betting. This is because adding extra difficulty to a match gives it much more excitement and skyrockets our chances of making a profit. 

Undoubtedly one of the best ways to get started with handicap bets, and earn little money, is by betting on the big boys. Let’s imagine that 2018/2019 Barça plays against Rayo at Camp Nou. Unless Messi gets surprise diarrhea that day, everything indicates that Barça will win by a landslide. So it would be a good idea to place a bet with a handicap. 

Summary

The Handicap in betting is nothing more than giving some advantage or disadvantage to a team. This is because the Handicap allows us to add or remove goals from the result of a match. It is logical that the more advantages we give a team, the lower the odds. And the opposite is also true: the more disadvantages we place on a team, the greater the odds.

Handicap bets are exciting to win fast money, but the more the profit increases, the more the risk increases. So create a strategy and analyze each bet well if you don’t want your bankroll to disappear faster than you anticipated.