What is Asian Handicap betting?

Asian Handicap betting markets are perfect for football traders looking for an alternative to the more traditional 1X2. We explain what Asian Handicap betting is, how to bet on the markets, and their benefits.

The Asian Handicap betting market is often seen as complex, but once you understand the concept, you will have a fresh perspective for football trading.

How does Asian handicap work?

Sport can throw up some fascinatingly equal contests. But quite often matches in the biggest professional sports such as football, tennis and NFL see vastly superior sides face inferior opponents. When this happens, the odds on the favourites to win are sometimes so small the potential returns are not worth the risk.

So bookmakers created the Asian Handicap to provide balance to an uneven match-up and give punters the opportunity to roughly follow a 1X2 model of betting.

Asian Handicap betting is similar to regular Handicap betting, in which a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage is given to one of the teams playing.

What are Asian Handicap half and quarter lines?

Asian Handicap half lines

The lines above are called full lines, where the line you’re playing on is a whole number (eg. +/- 2 or 0). Yet Asian Handicap betting also offers bets on half and quarter lines.

Half lines differ from full lines as they hold values that end with .5 and range between +/- 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and so on.

Asian Handicap betting with the half line +0.5 means that the team you bet on starts the match with a positive Asian Handicap value of a 0.5 goal lead. This means you win if the team you placed a bet on wins or if there’s a draw. If the team loses, you’ll lose your bet.

If you bet on +1.5, the team starts with a 1.5 goal lead. You win if the team you bet on either wins, there’s a draw, or they lose by a maximum of one goal. If the team loses by two or more goals, you’ll lose your bet. Asian Handicap betting with negative half lines give you the same situations but the other way around.

Asian Handicap quarter lines

Quarter lines differ from full lines and half lines, as they have values that end with .25 or .75 and range from +/- 0.25, 0.75, 1.25, 1.75 etc. The beauty of quarter lines is that your bet can be covered for certain outcomes but not to the extent of half lines, so the odds are usually greater.

Asian Handicap betting with the quarter line -0.25 means that you bet that a team with a negative Asian Handicap value starts the match with a disadvantage of -0.25 goals. This means you win if the team you bet on wins the match. If the team loses, you lose your bet and if the match ends in a draw you’ll get half of your stake back.

With the quarter line -0.75, the team you bet on will start the match with a disadvantage of -0.75 goals. You win if the team you bet on wins with at least two goals. If they win with one goal, your bet will be divided so you get the money back on one half of the bet, while you win on the other half of it. You lose the bet if the team loses or if the match ends in a draw. The situation will be reversed if you bet on a positive quarter line in Asian Handicap betting.

Asian handicap explained

Asian handicap is a way of betting that originates in Asia and mostly used in football. Handicap means that one team has a virtual lead over the other side. Asian handicaps eliminate the chance of a draw in a match, so the possible outcomes are two.

A minus symbol (-) is given to the favourite team, which has a handicap disadvantage. A plus symbol (+) assigned to the underdog team, which has a handicap advantage.

You have many handicap betting options which are called “lines”. The following table shows the most used Asian handicap lines in soccer and its outcomes depending on the team result: Alternatively, you can use our Asian handicap calculator to find out the outcomes and the possible profits for each line.

Asian total half lines

If you bet on half lines in Asian total, for example over 0.5 goals, there are only two possible outcomes – a win or a loss. You win your bet if the match contains at least 1 goal and lose if the match ends goalless. If you bet on under 0.5 goals, the payback will be reversed.

If you bet on quarter lines in Asian total, for example over 0.75 goals, your bet will win if the match contains at least two goals. If there’s only one goal you win on half the bet and if there’s a goalless match, you lose your bet. If you bet on under 0.75 goals, the payback will be reversed. You win your bet on a goalless match, on one goal you lose half the bet and on two or more goals you lose your entire bet.

If you want more advice on Asian Handicap betting, you can ask a question yourself in the Unibet Community.

Asian handicap 0.0

Market example: Chelsea odds are @1.90 – Liverpool odds are @1.95.

You are betting £100 on Chelsea on the 0.0 Asian handicap football betting market.

If Chelsea wins, you win the bet. If a draw occurs, your stake is refunded. If Chelsea loses, you lose the bet.

You may see some companies offer something like DNB, Draw no bet, or Level ball. These are the same bets with 0.0 AH and in most cases used in football markets.

0.25 Handicap Example

The game starts with a score of 0 – 0.25 (1/4 goal handicap). The underdog team has a quarter goal lead before kick-off.

You win, win the half, lose, or lose the half stake of your bets. Let’s see an example.

Monaco @2.00 – Lyon @1.90

You are betting £100 on Monaco to win the -0.25 Asian handicap market.

If Monaco wins, you win the bet. If the result is a draw, you lose half of the stake (£50), and the other half (£50), is back to you. If Lyon wins, the bet loses.

You are betting £100 on Lyon to win the +0.25 handicap.

If Lyon wins, you win the bet. If a draw occurs, you get the half stake back and win the other half (£50) at 1.90 odds. You are still in profit. If Lyon loses, you lose the bet.

0.5 Handicap Example

In this case, the game starts with the score of 0:0.5 (half goal handicaps). The outsider team has the advantage of a half goal before kick-off.

Porto @1.85 vs Benfica @2.00

You are betting £100 on Porto to win -0.5 Asian handicap. We use the minus symbol (-) if the team has the lead by the betting markets.

If Porto wins, you win the bet. If Benfica wins or the game ends to a draw, you lose the bet.

You are betting £100 on Benfica to win +0.5 Asian Handicap. We use the plus symbol (+) if the team has the lead by the betting markets.

If Benfica wins or the game ends to a draw, you win the bet. If Porto wins, you lose your bet.

Porto to win and Porto -0.5 AH are the same bets and usually have the same odds.

0.75 Handicap Example

Here the game starts with the score of 0 : 0.75 (3/4 goal handicap). The underdog team has a head start of a quarter goal before kick-off.

It is different from the 0.25 Asian handicap betting market with a slight exception.

Betis @1.90 vs Real Madrid @1.90

You are betting £100 on Betis to win +0.75 Asian handicap. The home team is the underdog. As a result of it, Betis has the 0.75 goal handicap of the offer.

If Betis wins or ties the game, you win the bet. If Real Madrid wins by one goal difference (0-1, 1-2, 2-3), you lose half of your stake (£50), and the other half (£50) returns to you. If Real Madrid wins the game by two or more goals (0-2, 1-3, 0-3), you lose your stake.

You are betting £100 on Madrid to win -0.75 Asian handicap. To win your bet, you need Madrid to win by two or more goals difference (0-2, 0-3, 1-3).

If Madrid wins the game by two or more goals, you win the bet. If Madrid wins by one goal (0-1, 1-2, 2-3), you win half of your stake (£50) and win the other half (£50 × 1.90). You are in profit again. If the game ends to a draw or Betis wins, you lose your stake.

-1 Handicap Example

In this case, the match starts with a score of 0:1. The underdog team has a head start of one goal before kick-off (handicap 0:1).

Juventus @1.80 vs Bologna @2.05

You are betting £100 on Juventus to win -1 Asian handicap. To be a winner, you need Juventus to win by two or more goals (2-0, 3-0, 3-1).

If Juventus wins by two or more goals, you win the bet. If Juventus wins by one goal (1:0, 2:1, 3:2), you get your stake back. If the match ends on a draw or Bologna wins, you lose the bet.

You are betting £100 on Bologna to win +1 Asian handicap. To be a winner, you need Bologna to win or a draw result.

If the match result is a draw or Bologna wins, you win the bet. If Bologna loses by one goal (1:0, 2:1, 3:2), your stake is refunded. With any Juventus win by two or more goals, you lose the bet.

The same goes on when the home team is the outsider. Usually, it is displayed like handicap 1:0 or handicap +1.

-1.5 Handicap Example

One of the most famous Asian lines in football handicap betting is the -1.5 line. Here the game starts with the 0:1.5 line (handicap 1.5).

The underdog team has the advantage of a goal and a half before kick-off. There is no stake back to this market.

Barcelona @1.90 vs Espanyol @2.00

You are betting £100 in Barcelona -1.5 AH. To win your bet, you need Barcelona to win with two or more goals difference. In any other case, you lose the bet.

If Barcelona wins with two goals or more, you win the bet. Your profit will be £90. If Barcelona wins with a goal difference, or the match result is a draw, or Espanyol wins, you lose your stake.

Let’s suppose you bet £100 on Espanyol +1.5 Asian handicap.

If Espanyol does not lose or lose with just a goal difference (1-0, 2-1), you win the bet. If Barcelona wins with two or more goals difference, you lose the bet.

Barcelona -1.5 Asian handicap is the same as Barcelona -1 EH (European handicap).

Alternative Asian handicap markets

If you already understood the main Asian handicaps described above, it will be easy for you to understand all other alternative handicaps.

The concept is the same, with advantages given to the home or away side, but with bigger handicaps. For example, -1.75, -2, -2.25, -2.5, -2.75 etc.

Each bookmaker lists the Asian handicaps different; for example, Bet365 offers the standard AH option, depending on the odds.

All other AH options listed in a different section as ‘Alternative Asian handicaps’.

Some famous Asian bookmakers have their unique style, and they display alternative options somewhat different.

Which sports are best for Asian Handicap?

Football is a straightforward sport to bet on when using Asian Handicap for the first time. That’s because a draw is a likely outcome, meaning some betting fans want to cover that potential result.

Sports like cricket and rugby do have the potential for draws but they are much rarer events, so the Asian Handicap is not really required.