Asian Handicap is a type of betting that allows a punter to create a more even game when there is an obvious favourite or underdog.

For example, a game between Real Madrid and Cadiz shows this relationship quite well. Real Madrid is an obvious favorite in this La Liga matchup. So let's assume that the odds of Real Madrid winning are revolving around the 1.1 line.

This means that these odds are not very attractive as you would have to place a very substantial amount of money to gain a significant profit and in the big scheme of things, the risk is most likely not worth the reward in this particular instance.

This is where the Asian Handicap comes into play. Asian Handicap allows a bettor to even the odds in order to make bets more lucrative. Basically, they give a team a certain handicap and therefore raise the odds or lower them, therefore making the game more even.

There are 3 types of Asian Handicaps you can come across:

1. The first type is the Asian Handicap with a whole number. For example, +1, +2, +3 in favour of Cadiz or -1, -2, -3 for Real Madrid. This means that if you place a bet on Cadiz with an Asian Handicap of +2 and the game ends in a result of 0:0, 1:0 in favor of Real Madrid or Cadiz wins by any result, you have made a profit on that bet. If the game has ended 2:0 in favor of Real Madrid. This means that the bet is voided and you are going to have your wager returned to you. Lastly, if the game ends in a result where Real Madrid has won by 3 or more goals, you have lost that bet.
2. The second form of Asian Handicaps is the ones with half a point (e.g. +1.5, -0.5, -4.5 etc). Obviously, a team can't score half of a goal. This just means that the possibility for a game to end in a draw is removed from the equation. If you placed a bet on Real Madrid with an Asian Handicap of -1,5. This means that 2 outcomes are possible. The first one is that if Real Madrid wins by a scoreline of 1:0, 2:1 or 3:2 you have lost the bet because they started the match with a handicap of -1.5 goals and in those examples, the scoreline is -0.5:0, 0.5:1, 1.5:2 respectively. The alternative would be if Real Madrid won by 2 or more goals (2:0, 3:1, 4:2) then you would win your bet as the result would be 0.5:0, 1.5:1, 2.5:2 respectively. The easy way to think about it is just by subtracting or adding the handicap to the final result of the match.
3. The third type of Asian Handicap is quarter goals. Basically, it's just a combination of the two handicaps explained above. The key difference from this type of handicap is that the outcome of your wager can be a full loss, half-loss, half-win or a full win. The handicap is presented like this +0.25, +0.75, +1.25, +1.75 or -0.25, 0.75, 1.25, 1.75. Let's say that you placed a bet of $100 on Cadiz with an Asian Handicap of +1.75. This means that you have placed $50 on an Asian Handicap of +1.5 and the other $50 on the Asian Handicap of +2. In this case, if Real Madrid wins by +1 goal difference or the game ends in a draw you have made a full win. But if the game ends in favour of Real Madrid winning with +2 goals then you have made a half-loss as the Asian Handicap of +1.5 didn't come through ($50 loss) and the Asian Handicap of 2 is a void ($50 returned to you). Alternatively, you could have placed a $100 on Real Madrid with a handicap of -1.75. In this case, if Real Madrid wins by only 1 goal you have made a full loss. If the scoreline ends by Real Madrid winning by +2 goals then you have made a half win because the handicap of -1.5 came through ($50 win) and the handicap of -2 has ended in a draw and you will have your stake to you on that handicap returned to you. Lastly, if Real Madrid wins by 3 or more goals you will make a full win on your wager.

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