Asian handicap betting doesn’t have to be complicated. At its core, an Asian handicap bet eliminates draws in low-scoring sports like football. This means you can bet more confidently on one team to win or lose, and not have to worry about the draw.
It’s worth understanding how Asian handicaps work before you get started with this bet type. They’re easy once you know what’s going on – but it takes a little bit of explaining to get started.
Our guide shows you how Asian handicap betting works and provides you with a few examples. Once you’re done, you should be able to bet at Paddy Power with more confidence.
What is an Asian betting handicap?
An Asian handicap bet applies a weight to the final score of a sports event, in order to even out the odds between two teams or individuals. Crucially, it also eliminates the draw.
It’s most commonly found in football, so we’ll use that sport for our examples. The idea is to balance out the odds in an uneven match, making it more palatable to bet on either the underdog or favourite.
In order to understand Asian handicaps it’s worth getting to grips with normal handicap bets first.
Here’s an example of a handicap bet:
Warsaw are down to play Betis in a Conference League game. The visitors are 1.67 favourites to win, while Legia are out at 4.50. You could bet on Warsaw to win but it would come with a big risk.
A handicap bet in football
Therefore you apply a one-goal handicap to the scores. As you can see, Betis are now 3.30 to win when starting with a -1 goal deduction. They need to win by two goals for you to win your bet. Warsaw are 1.91 to win with a +1 head start. They need to avoid defeat for you to win your bet.
This is a simple handicap – so what is an Asian handicap bet? Well, with Asian handicaps the draw is eliminated. Should the match end in a draw then you will either win or lose your bet, or win or lose a portion of your bet, depending on how you placed it.
If you want to know more, read our handicap betting guide here!
How Asian handicap betting works
Let’s get into that in a little more detail. Asian handicaps let you bet on whole goals, half goals and quarter goals. In doing so, you can split your stake across two outcomes, a little bit like an each way bet in horse racing.
Here’s a quick run-down of those goal splits:
Whole goal Asian handicap
A whole goal Asian handicap is when you bet on a team with a full goal advantage or disadvantage. So, that’s 0, 1, 2, 3 goals, etc. If you bet on England to beat Greece with a 0 handicap and they win 1-0 then you win your bet. If they draw then your stake is refunded. If they lose then you lose.
Bet on England with a -1 handicap and you win if they win 2-0 or more, get your stake back if they win 1-0, and lose if England draw or lose.
Bet on England with a +1 handicap and you win if they win or draw, get your stake back if they lose by one goal, and lose if they lose by two or more.
Here’s the Asian handicap who goal table:
Handicap | Match result | Bet result
0 | Win| Win
0 | Draw| Refund Stake
0 | Lose| Lose
– 1 | Win by 2+| Win
-1 | Win by 1 | Stake refund
-1 | Draw | Lose
-1 | Lose | Lose
+ 1 | Win | Win
+ 1 | Draw | Win
+1 | Lose by 1 | Stake refund
+1 | Lose by 2+ | Lose
Half goal Asian handicap
What happens when you bet on half goal Asian handicaps? Well, that ‘half’ goal either goes to the home or away team, depending on how you bet. Here’s the table that explains how it works:
Handicap | Match result | Bet result
-0.5 | Win | Win
-0.5 | Draw | Lose
-0.5 | Lose | Lose
+0.5 | Win | Win
+0.5 | Draw | Win
+0.5 | Lose | Lose
-1.50 | Win by 2+ | Win
-1.50 | Win by 1 | Lose
-1.50 | Draw | Lose
-1.50 | Lose | Lose
+1.50 | Win | Win
+1.50 | Draw | Win
+1.50 | Lose by 1 | Win
+1.50 | Lose by 2+ | Lose
Can you see? When you bet on the half goal Asian handicap, you don’t get your stake back at any point because the ‘result’ always goes to one team.
You can bet on whole, half and quarter goals with an Asian handicap
Quarter goal Asian handicap
This, we’ll admit, is where things get a little complicated. Bettors don’t always want to bet on the half goal because you’re not necessarily insured if a team holds on for a draw. The quarter-goal exists to effectively give you a half win when draws occur.
You can place + and – .25 and .75 quarter goals on the Asian handicap. Here’s a table of what happens to your bet depending on which one you go for:
Handicap | Match result | Bet result
-0.25 | Win | Win
-0.25 | Draw | Half Lose
-0.25 | Lose | Lose
+0.25 | Win | Win
+0.25 | Draw | Half Win
+0.25 | Lose | Win
-0.75 | Win by 2+ | Win
-0.75 | Win | Half win
-0.75 | Draw | Lose
-0.75 | Lose | Lose
+0.75 | Win by 2+ | Win
+0.75 | Win | Win
+0.75 | Draw | Half Lose
+0.75 | Lose | Lose
-1.25 | Win by 2+ | Win
-1.25 | Win by 1 | Half Lose
-1.25 | Draw | Lose
-1.25 | Lose | Lose
+1.25 | Win by 2+ | Win
+1.25 | Win by 1 | Win
+1.25 | Draw | Half Win
+1.25 | Lose | Lose
-1.75 | Win by 3+ | Win
-1.75 | Win by 2 | Half Win
-1.75 | Win by 1 | Lose
-1.75 | Draw | Lose
-1.75 | Lose | Lose
+1.75 | Win by 3+ | Win
+1.75 | Win by 2 | Win
+1.75 | Win by 1 | Win
+1.75 | Draw | Half Lose
+1.75 | Lose | Lose
Make sense? So, if you bet on England at +1.75 and they win 2-0, then you win your bet. But should they draw then you lose half your bet, with the other half being refunded. The quarter Asian line provides another layer of insurance against a loss and it’s all about getting rid of those pesky draws.
No wonder it’s so good for football betting!
Now read this!
Our football handicap betting guide
THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW