Asian Handicaps

[DozyJack]

I see there is not very popular the types of betting - Asian Handicap here at TDP, as some of punters are having few info regarding this, so decided to give some explanations and links I found in the inet:

1.

Asian Handicaps



In plain English - what is Asian handicap betting?
In Asian handicap betting, the odds-compiler handicaps the two teams in a game before kick-off. He gives a goals deficit to the team he thinks is more likely to win, and a head start to the team he thinks is less likely to win. The handicaps are expressed in goals, or fractions of goals.

Where does this type of betting come from?
It’s the most popular form of football betting in the Far East – hence the name. It’s basically a variation on fixed-odds betting. The handicap is a great leveller, as it effectively takes the draw out of the equation and means you’re betting on one team or other to win the match.



What are the advantages for a punter?
Asian handicaps give you the chance to bet on a match in which teams are badly mismatched. For example, if Chelsea play Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup, you’d expect to see Chelsea priced up to win the match at around the 1/10 mark. Who’d want to have a bet at that price? On the Asian handicaps, however, Chelsea might be priced up with a -2.5- goal start around 35/40 and Doncaster Rovers with a +2.5- goal start at a similar price. All of a sudden, you can take a view on the game and place a bet.



So what exactly am I betting on?
Rather than backing a team simply to win the match, you’re backing them to overcome the handicap awarded to them. So, in the example above, you’d back Chelsea if you fancied them to beat Doncaster Rovers by three goals or more – in other words, to beat the handicap. Plenty of punters would feel this was worth betting on if they thought Chelsea would hammer Doncaster. Likewise, you’d back Doncaster if you felt they could avoid defeat by three goals or more. Again, this might be worth taking if you felt they could keep it tight.



Any other plus points?
Yes – in some circumstances, the Asian handicap allows you to get your stake back. Take Arsenal are playing Blackburn Rovers at Highbury, for example. Rovers, as the underdogs, may be awarded a +1-goal start. Let’s say you back Rovers at 9/10. If they win or draw the game, your bet pays out, as you’ve won on the handicap. If, however, Rovers lose by only a single goal (thereby equalling the handicap), you get back your stake. You only lose if Rovers lose the game by two goals or more.

This is clearly an advantage: Asian handicaps sometimes give you a safety net of getting your stake back.


What are split balls?
OK, this is complicated. Sometimes you’ll see a handicap expressed as + or -0.25-goal start (alternatively written as 0, 0.5). This means half of your stake is on your chosen team with a 0-goal handicap, and half your stake with a 0.5-goal handicap.

For example Manchester United are playing Newcastle United at Old Trafford, and Newcastle are awarded a +0.25-goal start at evens. You place a £20 bet on Newcastle, which means £10 of your stake goes on Newcastle with a 0-goal start, and £10 on Newcastle with a +0.5-goal start. If the game finishes 1-1, the half of your stake placed with a 0-goal start is returned. Why? Because this part of your bet equalled the handicap. Your £10 placed on Newcastle at evens with a +0.5-goal start is a winner, as the game finished 1-1 so you won on the handicap. Your total profit is £10.


Where can I go to place an Asian handicap bet?
Premier Bet (www.premierbet.com) and Bet365 (Bet365) are the leading Asian handicap betting sites with the most markets available. You can also place bets at VC Bet and Stan James.

URL: Markets Explained | Masterclass | Football | Total Gambler UK

P.S. Now almost all the bookies are playing AH.



2.

What are handicaps?

Handicapping is a way of making a sports contest more even which also makes it more interesting to bet on. In betting, this is done by awarding one of the teams, the underdog, some points or goals lead. What are Asian Handicaps?

Asian Handicaps are a relatively new type of bet which are offered on football matches.
The Asian Handicap is created so that in theory, each team has a roughly equal chance of winning.
In Asian Handicap betting, effectively the draw is taken out of play and a competitive market formed. So rather than deciding between home, draw and away, you simply decide which team you think is the best bet on the Asian Handicap they have been given or that they receive. The handicap is expressed in terms of goal/s or part of a goal start or deficit.
Different Types of Asian Handicaps

The main reason Asian Handicaps may appear complicated at first is that they are expressed in many different ways. The 0.5 Asian Handicap
1.95 AC Milan (-0.5) v Liverpool (0.5) 1.95
The first figure 1.95 is the odds available and the figure in brackets is the handicap.
This means that Liverpool receive an imaginary half a goal lead at the start of the match.
If you bet on AC Milan who start half a goal down, they have to win the match for your bet to win.
If you bet on Liverpool, you win if they win the match or if they draw.

The 0 Asian Handicap

This occurs when the likelihood of either team winning is fairy level. Here you are really betting without the draw being an option. You win if your selected team wins. If it is a draw, your stake is returned.
The 1 Asian Handicap

If you choose the -1 handicapped selection, your team needs to win by at least 2 clear goals for your bet to win. If your team only wins by one goal then the stake is refunded.
If you select the team who has a one goal lead (+1) then you win if they win or draw. If your team lose by just one goal then stake is refunded. This is a good bet if you fancy an underdog to get a result. Even if you are wrong, if they can limit the defeat to just one goal then you don’t lose.
The 1.5 Asian Handicap

Here, if you bet the -1.5 handicapped team you win if the team wins the match by two or more goals.
If you select the team which has a start (+1.5) then you win if the team wins or draws. You also win if it loses by one goal!
The Double Asian Handicap Explained

In double handicap betting the wager is split in two.
An example of a double bet handicap would be:
Luton v Watford
(-½,-1) (+½,+1)
In this example half the stake money is placed on Luton minus half a goal and the other half on Luton minus 1 goal. The result of the bet is worked out using the methods described above.
Often the double Asian handicaps are expressed as decimals. The figure being the mid point between the two handicaps. In this example you might there for see -0.75 Luton v Watford +0.75 Double Handicap 0, 0.5

This is also known as the level half Asian handicap and could be referred to as -0.25 (0,-0.5)and +0.25 (0,0.5)
If you bet on the team which is 0, -0.5 on the handicap then you win if the team wins by one goal or more. If it draws you lose 50 per cent of your stake. The other half of the stake is returned. Returning of the stake when your bet or part of your bet equals the handicap is also known as a push.
If you select the opposition 0, +0.5 then you win if the team wins the match. If it draws, half your stake is returned and half is a winner at the odds taken. The Double Asian Handicap 0.5, 1

If you select the (-0.5, -1) handicapped team, also could be referred to as -0.75 then you win if the team wins the match by two or more goals. If it wins by one goal, half your stake is returned and half is a winner at the odds taken.
If you select the opposition (+0.5, +1) team, could also be known as +0.75 then you win if the team wins or draws the match. If it loses by one goal, you lose 50 per cent of the amount staked. Bookmakers Odds For Asian Handicap Bets

In handicaps without a draw option, bookmakers vary in the odds set and the advantage that they take in terms of the over-round. But generally, the amount of profit that bookmaker take on these bets is lower than what they would take on a full time or 90 minutes match bet which includes the draw.
Bookmakers will typically pay out on Asian Handicap bets between 90% and 100% of what they take, normally towards the top end of this., making very low percentage profits on the bets.
This is one reason why Asian Handicap bets can be great value bets. In-Running Asian Handicaps
As well as offering odds on the 90 minute result with the draw, many bookmakers also offer the Asian Handicap in-running market. Bets on the Asian Handicap market in running are settled according to the scoreline for the remainder of the game after the bet has been struck. Any goals prior to the bet being placed are ignored for settlement purposes.

URL: Asian Handicap | OLBG Betting School


Good Luck with AH and other bets as well.

[kompressaur]

Thanks for that Jack. I'll get to read it sometime soon no doubt. I terrible for liking the bigger odds on offer with the 1,2,x but there's no denying its popularity. does anyone have a history od Asian handicap betting? where it came from etc? always an interesting read.

[DozyJack]

Here it is Komp



Asian Handicap - The Story

It's the future of football betting, but so little is known about it - especially in the UK.


But it's the choice of millions of people in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and throughout the Asian peninsular. So what is so special about Asian Handicap betting and why is it the fastest growing form of betting in the world today?

And, more importantly what is it and how does it work?

Betting Expert Sean Smith guides you through Asian Handicapping and how it can make you money&

History of Asian Handicap

Although the betting form itself has a very short history - only springing up in any kind of regulated form around 1999 - its parentage can be traced back to the halcyon days of the boom-and-bust economic miracle of the 1980s.

During the '80s a firm called City Index started offering spread betting on shares - effectively giving people outside of the bear and bull pits the chance to bet on the markets. And they did in droves - winning and losing millions.

As this form of betting grew, the City boys turned their attention to football and offered spread prices on big football matches.

Rumours of outrageous gambles were legendary at the time. The most famous alleged England players were in cahoots with the gamblers and this came to a head when during the start of an international the ball was booted directly into touch from the kick-off, winning everyone concerned thousands of pounds on the spread.

Completely unsubstantiated nonsense, of course. But the whole City experience showed that UK football had tickled the interest of those not necessarily associated with the game in this country.

People with serious money had garnered an interest and the search was on to find a way to keep them interested - particularly in the Asian tiger economies of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and the Pacific Rim.

The search was on to marry the confines of UK football rules to a form of betting that could sustain the attention of a burgeoning market. Normal gambling odds proved confusing. The Asian market - like the US market before it - had no idea what to do with a draw. To an Asian gambler a draw was the stall numbers of a horse race.

Meanwhile UK bookies had been attempting to tap into two new markets as the Government continued its sweep of draconian gambling laws. American Football, rugby union and Rupert Murdoch's recently-born Super League (rugby league) were prime betting markets.

But with much bigger points systems and with many matches almost walkovers it became clear that a handicap system was required. So Gridiron teams were offered head starts between three-and-a-half points and 27-and-a-half points, which guaranteed that there could be only one winner in the eyes of the bookie and punter.

The move didn't not go unnoticed and as the '90s progressed - and British football became more popular - Asian bookies began to offer half-point handicaps on Premiership matches.

If Manchester United were playing Manchester City then giving City a half point in the handicap made sure that there could only be two winners - and a market would be formed accordingly.

From 1999, with the internet booming and English football now totally embraced within the Eastern culture the Australian bookies took a serious interest and the betting form took off.

Now the UK bookies stand alone as not offering Asian Handicapping - a situation which is likely to change as the gambling laws in the UK and USA continue to be relaxed.
What came first the Money or the Reds?
There is some debate as to what came first - Manchester United's popularity in the Far East or the gambling boom on UK football that swept the region.

It is a moot point, but I feel that gambling came first simply because during the '80s Asia looked towards the West predominantly because of its rampant money markets.

That is what created spread betting, which is arguably the godfather of modern betting methods - and the first point that Asian gambling markets looked West for satisfaction.

Regardless of what came first there is no doubt that fortunes were made out of Manchester United's Champions League win against Bayern Munich in the Nou Camp in 1999.

That game marked a spiralling in the popularity of English clubs and because of it there is no surprise that Manchester United were the first to crack the Asian market.

If they were only slightly popular before that balmy spring Spanish night - their success made them superstars in a region not known for its toleration of losers.

URL: ESPNsoccernet - Betting Zone - Betting Zone - Asian Handicap

[kompressaur]

thanks very much Jack. A great wee read. I rememebr the alleged incidents they mention and im away to look more at this case again

when during the start of an international the ball was booted directly into touch from the kick-off, winning everyone concerned thousands of pounds on the spread.

[kompressaur]

Anyone rememebr who that game was between when that happened?

[JoseRules]

I don't, but i am certainly going to find out about it. You have got me interested.
Here are a couple of links
Asian Handicap Betting Guide | Best Bookies for Asian Handicap Odds |
This one gives an excellent guide to AH betting, and particularly is good for people who have trouble with +1/4 or +3/4 (As i did when i first started)

The second one is
AsianHandicap.com – Your Guide To Asian Handicap Betting
which specialises (in case you hadn't guessed!) in AH tips and prices. Most of the tipsters give excellent info in their analyses. Cruiser from GoonersGuide is the man to follow at the moment with +104 point profit last month (Oct +70, Sept +87). If anyone else fancies themselves they have good monthly prizes if you want to apply to join up.