Originally called Asian handicap betting, it is the process of levelling the odds in a bet by giving a virtual advantage or disadvantage to certain competitors in order to even out the competition.
This technique has been employed in many sporting fields by giving a positive score to the weaker team, while the better challengers are deducted some points. All this is usually determined by a bookmaker who ensures statistically fair action.
There are some fields in sports that typically stand out when it comes to handicap betting. They include:
a) Basketball
As you can read on thepunterspage.com, handicap betting is especially used in this sport because of how the scoring works. Here, handicap points are given according to the chances of the outcome so as to even out the odds. This makes betting on a basketball match more of a level playing field.
b) Golf
Here, you can bet in two ways, by match handicap or round handicap. In the match handicap, golfers are personally awarded an advantage depending on their chance of winning. In round handicap, the same applies, but you get to bet on many golf matches or tournaments.
c) Tennis
Here, there are two types of bets as well, set handicaps and game handicaps. In the former one, you get to bet on if one of the players will win with the assistance of the set handicap. The same applies to the game bets, but here you can bet in favor of a player to win a number of sets in a game.
How Does Handicap Betting Really Work?
The bookkeepers aim to handicap which they consider being the stronger team by adding a goal allowance to the weaker team. This is done in a way that the supposed handicapped result is as close as possible to a 50/50 mark.
As a result, the odds can be set almost equal for both the home or away team call. Although sometimes that does not appear to be possible, so the odds are still distinctively slanted.
As if that is not good enough, you also have the advantage with Asian Handicap Betting which is usually in whole numbers. In this case, you will not be wholly penalized if the handicapped result is a draw and you get the better part of your stake back.
With half number handicapping, as with European Handicap Betting, it is impossible to have a draw as the final handicapped result; there has to be an outright home or away winner.
Why are handicap bets, especially in basketball, so popular?
Handicap betting is big in basketball because of how the scoring works. It is possible to place really good odds on popular games and where you instantly see that the odds are low for the team you intend to bet on. When it comes to basketball, there are a couple of advantages that stand out like:
1. They have the chance of improving the already reasonable odds further. They can therefore make more money, which is satisfying enough.
2. Elimination of a draw result in the score increases the chances of winning.
3. When it is used in an accumulator there are few possible outcomes hence increasing the chances of winning.
4. Depending on the handicap applied, you can still win if the team you bet on loses the game.
In other cases, there are also handicap bets where you can decide to place a bet on your team predicting how it will do during the season.
Here, there are many
ready-made odds to choose from and sets for which positions the team
will take.
This Asian handicap betting model has some
options. The bettors have the choice to bet one or the other
depending on their budget and the amount of money they are willing to
risk. In other words, the model has some options which would increase
the odds of winning the bets.
The application of the Asian
handicap model requires a good knowledge of the sports betting odds
altogether, as an initiation for better understanding and better
application.
