What does Asian Handicap mean?

Today’s article in our “Ask the Experts” panel will discuss the topic of Asian Handicap. A user with the name Misheck Njeru asks the following question: “What do asian handicap means”.

The Asian Handicap is a kind of betting market usually seen in sports betting, especially football. To understand Asian Handicap correctly, you need to know that in betting there are two main variations of handicap betting:

Handicap, also known as European Handicap
Asian Handicap

With any handicap betting market, you can add or remove virtual advantage in the score for a specific team. That way, you can get higher odds or reduce the risk of your bet.

For example, if you bet on a football game between Chelsea and Arsenal and choose a Handicap win for Arsenal +1, that means that virtually, Arsenal will have a goal lead in the result. That way, your bet wins if the actual outcome of the match is a draw or Arsenal wins. That means you add +1 to the goals scored by Arsenal and get your handicap score. If Chelsea wins, you lose the bet because even if they win by 1 goal, the handicap result will be a draw (virtually).

If you understand how the standard handicap works, it will be easier to get the idea of Asian Handicap. With this betting market, you have more betting lines than the standard handicap, and the main difference is that in Asian Handicap lines, the draw is excluded as a possible option. What does that mean?

If we use the example above and have the Asian Handicap +1 for Arsenal to win the match, but Chelsea wins by 1-0, then the handicap result is 1-1. In Asian Handicap, that means bet void, so your stake is returned to you. If the bet was made with the standard handicap, it should have been lost, but with AH, there is a difference.

Asian Handicap consists of several betting lines with “+” or “-” values that mean “adding” or “reducing” the advantage of a team of your choice. It is common for the Asian Handicap to have “half” lines as well as “quarter” lines. With the half lines (+1,5, for example), there is no possibility of a draw in the bet. The quarter lines are more interesting because they divide the bet into two parts.

For example, if you bet Arsenal +1,25 to Win against Chelsea, that means you place two bets on lines Arsenal +1 and Arsenal +1,5. That way, you can secure half of your stake.

The explanations here cover the basics of Asian Handicap betting. If you want to learn more, you can also read our Asian Handicap guide, which includes a table with possible lines and examples of when the bet will be a winner, void, or loser.

Good luck, and remember to play responsibly!