Handicaps in betting
When we deal with betting, sooner or later we would start talking about handicaps. It is essential for bettors because it gives better opportunities for betting on matches which without the handicap would not be attractive enough.
Imagine what the betting world would be without the handicap option. Let’s take for example a match between a very strong and a very weak team. The odds for a win for the stronger team would be 1.01 and it is just not worth betting anything on it because the possible winning is too small. If the odds for the weaker team are 101, it is not worth betting for them again because the chance for winning is too small. With the handicap this is changed. Because of it the chances of both teams are aligned and this offers to the punters many different opportunities for betting.
The bookies offer mainly two types of handicap – European and Asian. European handicap offers three possible outcomes of a football match – a home win, a draw or an away win. For example, if Barcelona and Levante play against each other and the proposed European Handicap is -3 for Barcelona, it means that if Barca won with 4-0, they would beat the offered handicap and the backer for Barcelona would win. However, if Barcelona wins with two goals, let’s say 4:2, then they fail to beat, the advantage and the final result would be 4:5. In this case the profit would go to the people who have bet on Levante. The interesting part happens if Barcelona wins with three goals difference. In this case we have a draw, which is the third possible outcome of this match.
Exactly on the draw as possible outcome is the main difference between the European and Asian handicap. In the Asian handicap, the draw does not exist. If the handicap is -3 for Barcelona and they beat with exactly three goals difference, then the bet will be returned. The difference is small but extremely significant because with Asian handicap the possible outcomes are just two, which increases the betting opportunities for the punters.
If you haven’t learned about these two handicaps yet – the European and especially the Asian, do it immediately because they are a very important weapon in favour of gamblers.