Updated 17 February 2025

Asian Handicap Meaning Explained

Newcomers to betting can struggle to understand the Asian handicap meaning and its intricacies. It’s really quite simple, so we’re going to explain exactly how these handicaps work, why they’re popular and give you some tips so you can make the most of them.

What is an Asian Handicap?

This type of bet is thought to have originated from an Indonesian bookmaker. It then gained popularity amongst Asian bookmakers, gaining the Asian handicap moniker when it became available at bookies across the world.

Asian handicaps are a common option in football betting. You can tell them apart from a normal handicap, as they only have two betting options. A regular handicap – often known as European – has three betting options, with the draw also being a possibility.

As is the case with all handicaps, the object of Asian handicap bets is to create a level playing field in football matches. Often there is a heavy favourite in a 1×2 betting market. With a handicap bet, the favourite has a goal handicap that they must overcome and the underdog an advantage.

That’s the Asian handicap explained. Now we’re going to explore how they work.

How Does Asian Handicap Work?

Let’s give you an example to better explain Asian handicap meaning. Look at the match result market below.

Manchester City are the favourites to win at 23/20, with an Aston Villa win at 23/10 and the draw priced at 23/10. Now let’s look at an Asian handicap market for the same game.

Manchester City as favourites have a half goal disadvantage. Aston Villa as the underdogs, meanwhile, receive a half goal advantage.

Asian handicap meaning

You’ll notice that with the handicap applied that Aston Villa are now the favourites at 8/11. Manchester City are still priced at 23/20, but they are now the underdogs in a market with only two betting possibilities. There is now no draw option.

So, what does the half goal advantage for Villa and the half goal disadvantage for City mean? As no team can score half a goal, it guarantees a result to one of the two teams. There cannot be a draw.

If Aston Villa win the match, they also win the bet. Yet if they draw the match, they also win the bet, as they have the half goal advantage. A 1-1 draw sees Villa win 1.5 to 1.

Manchester City need a victory in the match to be the winning bet in this handicap market. With -0.5 goals, any sort of win would do. Yet if City had -1.5 they would need to win by a two goal margin to overcome the handicap and -2.5 would require them to win by three goals.

As you can see, these bets are pretty simple to work out. Sometimes the odds can be complicated, which is when an Asian handicap calculator can be handy.

Alternative Asian Handicap Lines

There are a number of alternative handicaps available at betting sites in the UK. As well as half goals, as we’ve shown you in our example, there are also full goals and half goals.

While half goals provide a definitive result, full goals and quarter goal betting can provide a full refund of your stake, or a half refund.

Sometimes these different types of handicaps are combined in what are known as split handicaps. You get two of these types of handicap together, with your stake split equally between the two.

Let’s take a look at how these different types of goal handicaps work.

Full Goals

With full goal Asian handicaps there can be tied markets, even if the option of the draw is not there to bet on. If there is a draw in the market, you get a refund on your stake.

So imagine Team A has a -1 goal handicap. If they draw or lose, then the bet is lost. Should they win by two or more goals, the bet is won. Yet if they only win by a one-goal margin, that is cancelled out by the -1 goal handicap and the market is a draw. In such circumstances, you get your stake back.

Half Goals

A half-goal handicap always gives us a definitive result. There can be no draw outcome. Either the favourite with the half goal handicap wins, or the underdog with the half goal advantage wins.

For this reason, half goal Asian Handicaps are very popular and are the ones that tend to be the most prominently displayed on betting sites. You’ll find that +1.5/-1.5 is particularly popular.

Quarter Goals

With a quarter goal handicap, you bet with the reassurance of possible half stake refunds, or half wins. So with a favourite that has a -0.25 handicap for example, if the game is drawn you lose half of your stake and half the stake is returned to you.

If you bet on the underdog with +0.25 and it is a draw, you get half the stake back and the other half of the bet is a winner. It’s similar to an each way bet in this regard.

Asian Handicap Table

To understand Asian handicap meaning further, here is a table that displays the various results for different outcomes, across some of the available handicaps.

Handicap Team Result Bet Result Handicap Team Result Bet Result
0 Win Win 0 Win Win
Draw Stake refund Draw Stake refund
Lose Lose Lose Lose
-0.25 Win Win 0.25 Win Win
Draw Half lose Draw Half win
Lose Lose Lose Lose
-0.50 Win Win 0.50 Win Win
Draw Lose Draw Win
Lose Lose Lose Lose
-0.75 Win by 2+ Win 0.75 Win Win
Win by 1 Half win Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 Half lose
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ Lose
-1.00 Win by 2+ Win 1.00 Win Win
Win by 1 Stake refund Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 Stake refund
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ Lose
-1.25 Win by 2+ Win 1.25 Win Win
Win by 1 Half lose Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 Half win
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ Lose
-1.50 Win by 2+ Win 1.50 Win Win
Win by 1 Lose Draw Win
Draw Lose Lose by 1 Win
Lose Lose Lose by 2+ Lose
-1.75 Win by 3+ Win 1.75 Win Win
Win by 2 Half win Draw Win
Win by 1 Lose Lose by 1 Win
Draw Lose Lose by 2 Half lose
Lose Lose Lose by 3+ Lose
-2.00 Win by 3+ Win 2.00 Win Win
Win by 2 Stake refund Draw Win
Win by 1 Lose Lose by 1 Win
Draw Lose Lose by 2 Stake refund
Lose Lose Lose by 3+ Lose

Why Tipsters Give Asian Handicap Tips

When betting on football you can often find betting markets skewed towards a heavy favourite. This is part of understanding the Asian handicap meaning in full.

With leagues dominated by a stronger team, traders price up games in their favour at very short match odds. In such instances, an Asian handicap can be a very useful tool to make a market more even.

All of the best football tipsters are also looking for value bets to recommend to their punters. Asian handicaps are a form of betting that can help to create such opportunities, making them an attractive choice for betting experts.

Here at BetIdeas, our AI-generated football tips will often point you in the direction of Asian Handicaps.

What is Asian Handicap Betting Strategy That Works?

Before you rush off to place a wager with one of our recommended Asian handicap betting sites, take a look at our betting strategies.

1. Find Weak Teams With Strong Defences

The way traders design Asian handicap odds means they should come out roughly even. This creates scenarios where you may find some value. One such way is to identify weak teams with strong defences.

A side that regularly loses may resort to playing in a cautious manner, so they don’t concede too many goals and only suffer defeat by narrow margins. This can be invaluable with Asian handicaps, when that team has a goal advantage.

2. Look For Misfiring Sharpshooters

The opposite is true for strong teams. Look out for strong sides that are only winning by narrow margins and oppose them.

There might be a reason why they’re not winning by the margins needed to overcome a negative handicap against a weaker team.

Perhaps their star striker picked up an injury. Or they are a side that has built their success on defensive excellence, rather than attacking play.

3. Check Home/Away Records

Home and away records are worth examining. Maybe a team regularly win by a big enough margin at home, that there is value in backing them to overcome a deficit. Or, a strong team  might struggle to win by big margins when on the road.

Conversely, a weaker side could keep it tight at home, but then lose on their travels. Study home and away records and opportunities will present themselves.

FAQs

Where does the Asian handicap originate from?

The Asian handicap originated from a bookie in Indonesia. They then became popular across Asia, so when that popularity spread across the world, they became known as Asian handicaps.

What is Asian handicap in football?

It is a type of handicap bet in which there are just two betting options. Some feature half goals, which guarantee a definitive result. Others have full or quarter goals, where there can be a draw, giving some sort of stake refund or half odds.

How to place Asian handicap bets?

Just got to one of our recommended bookies, sign up and add some funds. Then go to the football section, find a match you want to bet on and scroll through the bets until you find the Asian handicaps. Click on the odds, select a stake and confirm.

What does Asian handicap mean compared to European handicap?

If you want to understand the Asian handicap meaning properly, then there is just the opportunity to bet on two options, the team with the handicap and the one with the advantage. With the European version, you can bet on three options. Either team, or the draw.

Where can I do Asian handicap betting in the UK?

Every bookie operating in the UK takes football very seriously. Therefore, just about every bookmaker around, offers Asian handicaps. Check out our recommended betting sites to find the cream of the crop.

What alternate Asian handicap markets are available to punters?

You can bet with full goals, half goals, and quarter goal handicaps. For each type there is typically a range of different numerical options available for any football match.

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