Asian Handicap Betting Guide

Asian handicap betting doesn’t need to be complicated – and this guide will help you through the details of Asian markets if you’re new to sports betting, or just want to revive your knowledge of this bet type.

We hear plenty of punters wondering what is Asian handicap betting, and how on earth do the markets work.

It’s an understandable position to be in if you’ve never bet on Asian lines before. After all, discovering you can bet on one-quarter of a goal in football doesn’t exactly sound straightforward!

But Asian handicaps are a great way of diversifying your bet types, reducing risk and backing favourites at far better prices. And so, we’ve created the ultimate Asian handicap guide to take you through this dynamic market…

What Is Asian handicap?

The Asian handicap is a betting concept born out of Indonesia in the 1990s. The idea is to reduce a match bet, say on football, from three outcomes (home win, draw, away win) to two outcomes (home win, away win).

It is also used to balance out the odds of unbalanced matches, such as when a Premier League team faces a League Two side in the FA Cup.

With Asian handicaps you’re betting not only on who will win a game, but also the points or goals margin of that result. You can still win part or all of your bet if your chosen game is a draw, depending on what you wagered on.

How does an Asian handicap work?

A bookmaker will create a ‘line’ where they think two teams have a 50/50 chance of winning. This line will favour the underdogs, so if Team A is top of the league and Team B is at the bottom, then the line will be placed giving Team B an advantage.

Bettors can then wager on different points in that line. You bet on a team to win either with (+) or without (-) a goal handicap advantage. These points are full, half and quarter, as shown here:

Full odds

-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, Half odds

-2.5, -1.5, -0.5, +0.5, +1.5, +2.5

Quarter odds

-0,75, -0.25, +0.25, +0.75

It means that if you bet on Team B to win with a +1.5 goal headstart at odds of 2.00, you can still win your bet if they lose 1-0.

Now, the outcome of your bet depends on which odds type you select (full, half, quarter) and whether you back a + or - handicap.

There are five different types of return for Asian handicap betting:

Win - You win the bet and get your profit and stake back

Lose - You lose the bet and lose your stake

Half win - You only win half your stake, the other half is lost

Half lose - You only lose half your stake, the other half is refunded

Stake refunded - Your total stake is returned with no loss or gain

Quarter betting

What makes the Asian handicap different to a normal handicap, however, are the additional ¼ splits within the goals. It means you can bet on Team A to beat Team B, for example, with a -1.75 handicap.

How is this possible? Well, this is where things appear to get complicated, even though they’re not. In quarter betting your wager is split in two, with half the bet backing a win and half backing a draw. Check out the table below for a demonstration on when ¼ bets win and lose on the draw.

Asian handicap example

Luton play Chelsea in the FA Cup and, because of the disparity between the two teams, are given a +1.25 and +1.50 handicap in the Asian markets to balance out the odds. Chelsea are 5/6 to win with a -1.25 handicap, and 27/25 to win with a -1.5 handicap.

You bet £10 on Luton’s Half odds. Luton win, draw or lose by just one goal and you’ll win your bet. You bet £10 on Chelsea’s Half odds. Chelsea need to win by two or more goals to ensure you win your bet. Any other outcome and you lose. You bet £10 on Luton’s Quarter odds. If Luton win or draw, you win your bet. If Luton lose by exactly one goal, you only win half of your bet. You bet £10 on Chelsea’s Quarter odds. If Chelsea lose or draw, you lose your bet. If Chelsea win by exactly one goal, you only win half your bet.

The quarter bet in Asian markets is meant to add an extra layer of protection in your wager, much like the concept of Each Way betting in horse racing.

Asian handicap calculator

You can calculate your risk and profits from an Asian handicap bet in the Leo Vegas bet slip, simply by clicking on your desired odds and entering a stake. Below we’ve set out when you will win and lose a bet, depending on the outcomes of the most common Asian lines:

Minus Handicap

Plus Handicaps

Best sports for Asian handicap

As we mentioned above, football is the best sport for Asian handicap betting. The reason for this is that draws are a regular occurrence in football, unlike most other sports. In fact, sports such as rugby, hockey, American football and basketball almost never have draws, so there is no real need for the Asian markets.

But in football the Asian lines are ideal for levelling up the playing field and giving your bet a chance even when backing underdogs. It also means you can extract value from heavy favourites while also covering your bet somewhat if they don;t quite hit your expectations.

Asian Handicap FAQs

What is an Asian handicap? An Asian handicap is a bet type that seeks to even out the odds of heavily-weighted sporting events, such as a football match, and get rid of the draw outcome. It is useful for players wanting to wager on heavy favourites or big underdogs.

What does Asian handicap mean?

Asian handicap means a bet type that originated from Indonesia in the 1990s, which seeks to eliminate the draw outcome in sports such as football.

Can I bet Asian handicap on football?

Yes. Football is the most commonly-used sport for Asian handicap betting, as draws are a regular outcome.

How to calculate Asian handicap win

The best way to calculate if you have won or lost an Asian handicap bet is to check our outcomes table in the betting guide above.