Asian Handicap Betting Explained | Mr Green Sportsbook

Asian Handicap Betting explained

With football matches taking place every day, the Asian Handicap is an exciting market to utilise to find an edge.

These markets originated in Asia and their popularity has grown around Europe over the last few years.

Read on to find out more about how Asian Handicap betting works and some examples of it in practice.

What is Asian Handicap betting?

In football, there are three potential outcomes – home win, away win and a draw. And, it’s the same in European Handicap betting.

However, the Asian Handicap market takes the draw out of the equation, leaving with you two options.

These markets try to give both teams a theoretical equal chance of winning, so, the weaker team is awarded an advantage over the superior team.

Cutting out the draw

Traditional football match betting markets give you three options: home win, away win and draw. You might fancy your chances of predicting which team is going to win, but the draw makes things more complicated. Trying to work out the correct draw odds can be tricky, which is where the Asian handicap can help. By focusing on the difference between the two teams, it effectively eliminates the draw altogether.

There is however another variant of Asian Handicap, namely the European Handicap, that is including the draw.

How does it work

In an Asian Handicap market, the weaker team is awarded an advantage over the stronger team, in order to give both teams a theoretical equal chance of winning. This advantage is stated in goals or fractions of a goal. As the theory behind the handicap is to give both teams an equal chance of winning, their odds are likely to be very similar, though it is important to keep up to date with the prices by checking out the latest Mr Green Asian Handicap markets.

Asian Handicap ball bets

Asian Handicap markets give you a variety of options to choose from. Here’s a bit more about each one:

whole balls betting

Whole-ball bets

The most common form of handicap betting. This is where one team is given a one-goal advantage. For example, if you bet on Newcastle +1 in a Premier League game against Man Utd, it would be successful if Newcastle win or draw the game.

half-balls betting

Half-ball bets

The ½ handicap is also known as the ‘half-ball’ handicap. It removes the draw as an outcome, so in practice if you back Liverpool ½ handicap advantage at Man City, add ½ a goal to Liverpool’s final score and compare it with Man City’s. Whoever has the highest score wins the bet.

Zero-ball bets

Perhaps the most straightforward of these markets. Both teams are equal, so the handicap is quoted as 0:0. You can back whichever side you think is most likely to win. If the game is a draw, your stake is returned.

quarter-ball bets

Quarter-ball bets

This market involves splitting your bet. For example, if Spurs are underdogs against Arsenal, they might be given a quarter-ball start. If you bet on Spurs, half of your stake goes on Spurs + ¼ handicap, while the other half goes on a zero-ball handicap. If Spurs win, both parts of your bet win. If the game is a draw, the ¼ handicap is successful, but your stake on the zero-ball half of the bet is returned.

three quarter ball bets

Three-quarter-ball bets

This Asian Handicap market works in a similar style to quarter-ball bets. However, this time your stake is split between a half-ball and whole-ball bet.

So, if Spurs are given a ¾ handicap advantage over Arsenal, half your stake would go on a half-ball bet with the other half on a whole-ball bet. If Spurs win or draw, both parts of your bet are winners. But, if Arsenal win by one goal, you’ll lose the half-ball portion of your bet, yet your stake on the whole-ball part would be refunded.

Tips for Asian Handicap betting

Asian Handicap betting markets are available on a range of sports, like football, basketball and netball, so it’s worth doing your research before any game, including finding out the latest team news.

Are there any injuries or suspensions to key players that could affect the outcome? Well, that’s where the Asian Handicap market could work to your advantage.

With a key feature of these markets centring upon the winning margin, it’s worth looking to see how ruthless a team is, while match context is also important. What’s at stake for the two teams? Will players be rested or rotated?

Look out for ‘false favourites’. If teams are a short price to win in the outright, yet their manager has vowed to rest players, you could take their opponents in the half-ball or quarter-ball Asian Handicap market – effectively betting that the favourite won’t win.

These Asian Handicap betting markets could give you an advantage if you know the latest news, so if you’re on the ball, you might find an edge.

betting homework

Do your homework

The key to Asian Handicap betting with Mr Green, as with any other form of online betting is to do your homework. You need to focus not just on which team is going to win, but on the likely margin of victory, and that means playing close attention to team news. If a team is missing a key striker, they may not be able to take all of their goal-scoring chances. Match context is also important. For example, you might decide Arsenal are worth a three goal margin over Hull but if Arsenal have a crucial Champions League tie a few days later, are they likely to be pushing hard to secure a three goal lead in the latter stages?

false favourites

False favourites

Another useful strategy that can bear fruit in Asian Handicap betting is to dig out a false favourite. Asian Handicap markets are devised with the intention of evening out a match, so if you think that the stronger team is overrated in the traditional match betting market, then you can cash in by backing the underdog with a half-ball or quarter-ball head start in the Asian Handicap market – effectively betting that the favourite won’t win.

This is often a good way to profit in end of season games involving the big teams such as Real Madrid or Barcelona, when they have nothing more to play for, particularly when they are up against teams that are fighting relegation or pushing for European qualification. The big teams will be priced up as favourites, but they may well be overestimated and the clued-up bettor can use the Asian Handicap market at Mr Green to turn this to their advantage.