To those who are starting in the betting world, most of us have been caught up more than once by those handicap bets. As is natural, not everyone know much about it, a lot of people prefer the usually 1 X 2 picks, but how can we take advantage of this good option (handicap bet) seeing the juicy odds that comes with it.

First of all let us understand the types of handicap betting

There are two types of handicap bets in bookmakers, the European handicap, which is very easy to understand and play, and the Asian handicap, which is more complicated but much more fun. I will explain each one of them.

Handicap European Bets

The simplest type of betting handicap is what is usually called European Handicap. In it we add or subtract goals or whole points and you can bet on the home victory, the tie or the away victory. It is quite easy to understand and to play. I will give an example with all possible options so that there is no doubt about it.

Juventus leader of the Italian Serie A after having won several consecutive leagues, plays at home against Sampdoria, a team that flirts with the relegation. We want to bet on the team that almost certainly will win, but we see that the bookmakers , as is logical, have put some really low odds in anticipation of a victory for Juventus . Well, in this case if we want to earn some money and bet on Juventus we have no choice but to go to European handicap bets. In this section betting bookies can opt for two options:

  • You can put EH followed by a positive (+) or negative (-) sign depending on the goals that we add or subtract from the home team. In this case, we would bet on the victory of Juventus with an EH -1. Thus, we would only win the bet if the home team wins by more than one goal to the visiting team, that is, we would win the bet with a 3-1, since the result for the bookmaker would be a 2-1, but we would lose the bet if it is 2-1, because in this case the bookmaker would count a 1-1 in the final score.
  • We can also find the European handicap marked with two numbers as handicap 0: 1 or handicap 1: 0 depending on who we give the goal of advantage. The operation would be the same. To win money with a Juventus victory, what we would have to do would be to bet on the 0: 1 handicap, which is as if Sampdoria started with a goal of advantage.

As said before, the European handicap allows draws , so in this case we can bet on a 0: 2 handicap draw, in which we would only win the bet if Juve wins just two goals difference.

Handicap Asian bets

This type of betting handicap is much more complicated than the previous one, since it admits more possibilities, but at the same time much more fun. The first thing to say about it is that it does not allow a draw. There is no possibility of finishing in tie and, if that happens, the bet is declared void and the bet is returned. Normally this type of handicap is perfect for football or handball matches, since, unlike other sports, these allow the tie at the end of the game. This means that, in simple bets, without a handicap, the contributions to the victory of one or the other team are greater than in other sports, since the tie is considered as one more possibility and therefore also takes its share of the odds, subtracting possibilities to the victory of one team or the other.

In addition, to make it all less complicated, there are four different types of Asian Handicap, with all that that entails when betting. We go with them:

  • Asian handicap without goal difference: It is usually found as HA + 0. This means that the tie is discarded, so if the bet occurs it is null and the money is returned. In my example, when betting on a Juventus victory with an HA + 0, we only win if the home team wins. In case of a tie we do not lose the bet, it simply is canceled. It is the same as a bet without a tie.
  • Asian handicap with goal difference: In betting platforms you will find as HA + 1 or HA-2. It is the same as the European Handicap, since they add or subtract goals to the home team but with a difference, the tie is not contemplated. If this happens, the bet is declared null and the money is returned. In my example, if we bet HA-1 to the victory of Juventus we will only take the money if Juventus wins by 2 or more goals difference. In case the home team wins by only one goal, the bet will be void.
  • Asian handicap with positive or negative half-point difference: We can find bets with handicaps of HA + 0.5 or HA-1.5. In this case the goals are added or subtracted, but as a team can not win by half a goal advantage, it makes the tie never be an option. To continue with the previous example so that the explanation is more graphic, if we bet on the victory of the Juventus with HA-1.5 we will only win the bet if the home team wins by 2 or more goals of advantage. The difference with the previous handicap type is that involves whole numbers in this case, if Juventus only wins by a goal of advantage we will lose the bet, since the null result is not contemplated when there is no tie.
  • Asian handicap with a positive or negative difference of a quarter point: We reached the most complicated handicap of all. That in which we can find with handicap HA + 0.25 or HA-1.25. It is complicated because we are actually making two bets at once, that is, we bet on the two goals or points that are closer to the handicap figure. Yes, better to give an example. If we bet on the HA-1.25, we are actually putting half the money of the bet to the HA-1.5 and the other half to the HA-1.0. In some betting platforms, to avoid the confusion of the bettors, we could find that the HA-1.25 is shown as HA -1.5, -1. In our case, if we bet € 10 on an HA-1.25, it means that we are putting € 5 on HA-1.

Why Consider Handicap Betting ?

The handicap bets, both in Asia and Europe, are designed to bet on games in which the difference in odd between the teams means that the simple betting option (1X2) do not make sense, either because you do not win almost any money or because they are very difficult to accept. This equals the chances of the contenders and, precisely for this reason, you can get more juicy odds to the victory of the favorites.

In matches where equality is maximum it is not advisable to bet with handicap, because although the odds go up, it is much more difficult to earn money with them. And more in a sport like football, where it is normal is to see little goals between teams of the same level.

However, in basketball, where there is equality of teams can give greater differences in scores, it can be a good option to give more consideration to this type of bets in which the draw is not contemplated and, therefore, the odds for a victory of one or the other team are not too high.

As you can see, handicap bets are really fun since they open a world of options that simple bets can not offer.

Have you already made some handicap bets before? Leave a comment and share your experience.