{"id":1175,"date":"2025-10-03T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T08:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oddsmonkey.test.betterbrandagency.com\/?p=1175"},"modified":"2025-10-03T16:33:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:33:16","slug":"what-is-the-asian-handicap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oddsmonkey.com\/blog\/matched-betting\/what-is-the-asian-handicap\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Handicap Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asian handicap betting provides certain teams with a theoretical advantage or disadvantage over their opposition, making it a fantastic option when betting on underdogs or heavy favourites. Here, we are going to look through what the Asian handicap is, the different forms it comes in and how you can use it in your betting strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Asian Handicap?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Asian handicap is a form of betting where a team is given a head start. This bet makes it so that a stronger team must win by a greater number of goals, or the underdog must lose by less than a predetermined margin for the bet to be deemed successful. The Asian handicap allows you to even the match a bit. This form of bet is perfect for football matches when one team is heavily favoured compared to its opponents.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have a short-priced favourite against a long-shot outsider, but you think the game\u2019s closer than the odds suggest, then the Asian handicap is perfect. It works by giving a particular team a head start of 1, 2, or 3+ goals. Obviously, the odds have been adjusted to reflect this.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, you might be wondering what the difference is between the Asian handicap and the traditional handicap betting system. In standard handicap betting, only whole numbers are used for the betting selections. In contrast, Asian handicap betting allows for half numbers to be used, effectively meaning there is no possibility for a draw whilst using the Asian handicap.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this might be quite confusing, there are many different handicaps to try to understand, so we\u2019ll take you through them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asian Handicap Examples:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Unlike the traditional handicap betting system, there are plenty of different handicaps that can be used throughout Asian handicap betting, from Plus (+) and Minus (-) handicaps to 0.25 and 0.5.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Throughout this table, we can see how different handicaps affect the results of matches and how many goals teams would need to win or lose for the bet to be successful. It is important to remember that this table can be applied to other sports; we have alternative sporting asian handicap guides, such as our tennis Asian handicap guide and our rugby asian handicap guide on site.<\/span><\/p>\n

By using a real-life example of Manchester City vs Aston Villa, we can see what bookmakers typically offer for different score lines and results of the match. As there was no clear favourite for the match, we can see that Manchester City, starting at -0.75, would return with evens for the bettor if Manchester City are able to win the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Asian handicap betting offers more insurance compared to handicap betting, the odds are typically lower, as players can return their stake when using Asian handicap betting.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are going to run through how these different Asian handicaps will return bettors if the bet is successful, as some of these bets can have unique results, such as pushes and half wins. If football is the sport you love and you are looking for different handicap bets to place, we have a <\/span>football handicap betting guide<\/span><\/a> available on the site.<\/span><\/p>\n

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0 Asian Handicap Meaning\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

This is the Asian handicap option when you see a 0 next to the team\u2019s name, as opposed to a plus or minus followed by a number. This is basically a draw-no-bet market. No handicap is applied to either team, and if the game ends in a draw, you will receive your money back.<\/span><\/p>\n

E.g. you have bet on Manchester City to win the match; there are three different outcomes:<\/span><\/p>\n