Asian Handicap
“Handicap” (same as “spread” in the American sports) means a fictive head start given to one of the teams (by default the underdog) – virtually leading the game by 0.25 goal, 0.5 goal, 0.75 goal , 1 goal, 1.5 goal, etc. The punter must either back the favorite to beat this handicap or the underdog to hold it. The default handicap could be also 0 goals (level ball) when both teams are estimated as more or less equal. It looks abstract at first glance but not hard to comprehend.
The Asian Handicap bet is settled by adding the handicap to the actual result of the game.
For example if Wigan have received 0.5 goal advantage against Blackburn (Wigan +0.5) and the game ends with a draw, the bet on Wigan wins by half a goal. Bets on Blackburn are winning if Rovers just win no matter with what result, that simple. When we have -1.5 handicap the favorite must win the game at least by 2 goals margin, otherwise the underdog (+1.5) is winning by half or more goals. For 0, 1 and 2 goals handicap the bet result could be a virtual draw and in this case all stakes are refunded. For example if Man United are set one goal down to Middlesbrough and they win exactly by 1 goal, the Asian Handicap result is draw and all bets are settled as void.
In fact many Asian Handicap lines cover exactly the same thing as other betting options – no need to mention what -0.5 means, the 0 goals handicap is equal to “Draw No Bet”, +0.5 is same as backing the underdog at “Double Chance”, -1.5 is same as Euro Handicap (0:1). Odds are usually higher though as we underlined one of the main advantages of AH betting.
Before going further it is very important to note that in live (in-play) betting Asian Handicap bets usually apply only to the remaining time of the game and NOT to the whole 90 minutes. Anyway be sure to check the bookmake’rs rules first.
SPLIT HANDICAPS (Quarter Ball)
We got the base of Asian Handicap betting which is certainly not hard to be figured out. The only challenge in AH comes with the so-called “split” handicaps because lines like -0.25 or +1.75 look weird and confusing. Lacking a clear standard to display split handicaps doesn`t help, various bookies and sites use different formats to show one and the same thing so you can see 0.75 as “3/4” or “0.5, 1” ; 1.25 as “1 1/4” or “1, 1.5” etc. Not a problem though once we get the idea.
Now this is the key – note that 0.25 is average value between 0 and 0.5, 0.75 is average between 0.5 and 1, 1.25 is average between 1 and 1.5. Most bookies give a hint in the way they display handicaps like 0, 0.5 or 0.5, 1. In these cases the bet is virtually split in two separate handicap bets. For example, if you bet 10 EUR on -0.75 (-0.5, -1) goal handicap in fact you bet 5 EUR on -0.5 and 5 EUR on -1 goal handicap. If your team wins by 2-1, half of your bet (5 EUR) is winning with the given odds (that going for the -0.5 handicap) and the other half of your stake will be refunded.
One more example – lets say we bet 50 EUR on Torino +0.25 (0, +0.5) against Parma, odds 1.80. If Torino wins, it is clear that we will take 90 EUR. If the game ends with a draw, half of our stake is winning (25 EUR x 1.80 = 45 EUR) and the remaining 25 EUR are refunded, overall we get back 70 EUR. On the opposite, if we bet on Parma -0.25 (0, -0.5) and the game result is draw, half of our bet (-0.5) will be lost and the other half (25 EUR) will be refunded.
GOAL LINES (Totals)
Asian goal lines (betting on the total number of goals scored in a game) are quite alike the classic under / over bets but here you can find more different lines as 1.75 goals, 2.25 goals etc. which work with the same idea as the split handicaps. Just something that must be mentioned, in live betting unlike Asian Handicap goal lines apply to the whole 90 minutes.

Asian Handicap and Sports Betting Rules:

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