What’s Asian Handicap?
Asian Handicaps developed because of the limited amount of goals often scored in soccer matches. Bettors were looking for a way to place wagers, but also not be completely at the mercy of the Football Gods when it comes to goals scored. A team can often have a dozen or more terrific scoring opportunities and still not find the back of the onion bag after 90 minutes. So Asian Handicap helps to reduce some of that variance.
The Asian Handicap betting market is a market that considers form, winning margins and the most probable outcomes of a match. Instead of betting on one team to win or the game to be drawn, you can bet on the margins a team will either win by or the margins by which they will avoid defeat. Asian Handicap betting levels the playing field in two ways. Firstly for the teams, as in some cases one team may be much more favored than the other to win and this can mean small betting odds.
Asian Handicap betting considers only the margin by which a game may be won or lost, helping to create a market deemed even. Also, it provides better and equal betting odds for the punter.
Pros & Cons of Asian Handicap
Pro – Asian Handicap betting provides steady betting odds with good liquidity, making it easier to place bigger stakes.
Pro – Asian Handicap betting is easier to stake evenly on, eliminating the risk of judging how to stake on varying odds.
Con – Asian Handicap can be a frustrating form of betting to some people, as it requires a lot of patience. Slow and steady wins the race.
Con – Whilst this method of betting should make for a bettor win percentage than best odds above even money, you’ll need to win 55% of sports bets over the long term to make a profit from sports betting.
Understanding this betting market is crucial to developing a good betting strategy and helps you to understand that just because a team is likely to lose a game, they may well be a solid Asian handicap bet.
Asian Handicap betting is arguably a fantastic option for a few reasons. Firstly you may feel more protected when using a whole line. A -1 asian handicap offers a degree of comfort. When you assess a team is likely to win by two clear goals or better there are options that allow you to bet on that such as ‘To win by two or more goals’ betting market or -1.5AH. By taking the -1AH you know that if the team wins but by only one goal your money is safely returned.
Another reason is you don’t have to bet small odds on the favorite or risk money on the underdog. The main Asian Handicap betting market for any game usually offers best odds around 1.90 and a handicap that is meant to reflect the gaps in quality between two teams.
A good Asian handicap strategy is key to success. If you bet without research you’re preparing to fail. Many bettors assume that the higher ranking teams, teams in better form and generally better-rated teams are going to beat the handicap more often than not. In reality, it’s hard for anyone to beat anyone by more than the asian handicap suggests at the top level of sport. There is no right or wrong way to employ asian handicap betting strategies. If you prioritise margins of victories, injury news, motivation or situational factors, you’re making a conscious effort to do something that will improve your chances of victory.