What is Asian handicap betting? It’s a good question and we’ve got a great answer right here. We’ll have Asian handicap betting explained in simple terms so that you can quickly see why this is such a popular kind of bet.
This means that you can try the Asian handicap in betting on esports and get more returns for backing the favourite as well as more wins for backing the underdog. Plus we’ll even give you some Asian handicap betting tips to help you out. So read on to have Asian handicap betting explained.
Top betting sites for Asian handicap betting
What is Asian handicap betting?
Most bookmakers will offer Asian handicap bets for a variety of regular sports and esports, and it is a technique where the odds of the two teams or players are altered to even things out.
For example, you might see a game where there is one clear favorite and one huge underdog. The favorite would be put at a points disadvantage. This means that they would have to win by a greater margin for you to win your bets if you backed them. The benefit of this is that you would get greater returns when betting on the favourite, although you are more likely to lose your bet.
Conversely, the underdog would be put at a points advantage. As a result, they wouldn’t even have to win the game in order for you to win your bet. This means that you could get more wins when backing the underdog, although it would come at the price of smaller returns.
Tundra Esports lifted the Aegis of Champions at TI11 in 2022 (Credit: Tundra Esports/Twitter)
How bookmakers display Asian Handicap bets
Most bookmakers will give you lots of different options for Asian handicap betting. These often come in the form of half-points to ensure that there is no tied result.
Here are some of the most common kinds:
- Asian handicap +0.5 betting: This is where a team would be put at a 0.5 points advantage or disadvantage. So for a soccer game between Liverpool and Everton, the match could end up a 1-1 draw, but if you’d backed Everton at a 0.5-goal advantage, you’d win your bet.
- Asian handicap +1.5 betting: For this example, we could imagine an NHL game between the Blackhawks and the Devils. In this, the Devils had the +1.5 advantage, so even if the Blackhawks won 3-2, you would still win your bet if you’d backed the Devils.
Example 1
Seeing as we’re compiling a comprehensive esports betting guide, we thought that we should show you how Asian handicap betting could work for your esports bets. So let’s have Asian handicap betting explained with a simple example:
- Let’s imagine that you wanted to try a Dota 2 bet on the final of The International. For this, Tundra Esports were the clear favorites and had odds of 1.80 to win. Conversely, Team Secret were the underdogs with odds of just 4.30 to win.
- Therefore betting on Tundra Esports would give you a good chance of winning, although your returns would be negligible. Conversely, a bet on Team Secret would yield some decent returns, but their chances of winning would be slim.
- An Asian handicap bet could work well here as it could put Tundra Esports at a one-map disadvantage, while Team Secret would have a one-map advantage. This would take Team Secret’s odds down to 2.00, while Tundra Esports’ odds would be pushed up to 3.10. Perfect for making an uneven-level playing field a little more equal.
Example 2
In a Dota 2 Lima Major match between EHOME and Gaming Gladiators, Thunderpick set a point spread (the handicap), for each team. The handicap represents a virtual head start or deficit that one team must overcome to win the bet.
Take a look at our Thunderpick review for an in-depth assessment of the platform and its features.
As seen in the Thunderpick screenshot below, EHOME have a +1.5 handicap, which means that they are starting the game with an imaginary 1.5-point lead. If you bet on EHOME and they win the match or lose by less than 1.5 points, your bet will win. The odds for EHOME to cover the spread are 5.00, which means that if you bet $1 and EHOME covers the spread, you will win $5.
On the other hand, Gaimin Gladiators have a -1.5 handicap, which means that they are starting the game with a virtual 1.5-point deficit. If you bet on Gaimin Gladiators and they win the match by more than 1.5 points, your bet will win. The odds for Gaimin Gladiators to cover the spread are 1.13, which means that if you bet $1 and Gaimin Gladiators cover the spread, you will win $1.13.
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Advantages of Asian handicap betting
The best thing about Asian handicap betting is that it allows you to take control of the odds. This means that you are no longer stuck with getting middling returns from betting on the favorite. It’s a great option, too, if you want to bet on your favorite team even if they have little chance of winning the game.
Disadvantages of Asian handicap betting
We can’t have Asian handicap betting explained without covering some of the drawbacks of this betting strategy.
The main thing to point out is that this technique makes it harder to win when backing the favorite and you’ll get fewer returns when betting on the underdog. It can also be fairly strange to win your bet even if the team that you are backing loses, but apart from that, there really aren’t any disadvantages in Asian handicap betting.
Continue reading: What does 1×2 mean in betting?
Some simple Asian handicap betting tips
Asian handicap betting is pretty easy once you get the basic concept, but here are some handy tips to help you out:
- Play it safe: Favorites are usually favouriting for a reason. So consider an Asian handicap bet that slightly reduces their chances of winning the game, but not by too much. This way you’ll get marginally better returns compared to if you had stuck with the standard match-winner odds.
- Compare different bookmakers: You’ll find Asian handicap bets at all good online bookmakers, but there can be quite a wide difference in the odds that they put on for these kinds of bets. This means that you should always shop around to see which bookmaker has the best odds for the Asian handicap bet you want to try.
- Don’t forget those bonuses: You’ll usually be able to use bookmaker esports betting bonuses for Asian handicap betting. This means that you might be able to use a matched deposit bonus for getting better returns, or even a losing bet refund for when that Asian handicap bet goes horribly wrong.
Enjoy Asian handicap betting
Now that we’ve had Asian handicap betting explained, you’ll have all you need to enjoy this great way to get the odds to work in your favour. This means no more getting lame returns when betting on the outright favorite and you can even pick up more wins when backing your favorite team – even if they have no hope of winning that esports contest.
