The Asian handicap is a form of betting on sports that has Indonesian origins. The term appeared at the end of the 20th century, more precisely in the year of 1998 in Indonesia. There already existed this type of bet in Asia and was called “Hang Cheng”, the term of “Asian Handicap being attributed to the news writer Joe Saumarez Smith who translated it for the owner of a bookmaker, Joseph (Joe) Phan.
These types of bets offer a bigger value to the sports events that imply disproportionate forces. In a match that implies teams like Chelsea and West Ham United the odds can be of 1.22 for the victory of Chelsea, 8.72 for a tie and 20.14 for the victory of West Ham United. Of course, it is tempting to take into consideration the odds of 1.22 in a combo bet, but the adrenaline rises when you open the odds page for Asian handicap bets.
Do not believe that these bets only advantage the bettors, because the bookmakers have the higher possibilities to increases their profits in case of a “a chance out of two” situation than of a 1×2 (a chance out of three). Of course, us bettors are only interested in the full half of the glass, a flexibility that most times, combined with inspiration can bring moments of maximum satisfaction.
The Asian handicaps are probably the most tempting sports bets at this moment, for those who understand how they work, but unfortunately they aren’t that many. This reason gives sense to this subject.
If we were to classify them, we have three types of handicaps: Asian handicaps on half a point (ex. ±0.5, ±1.5), full point (ex. 0, 1) and a quarter of a point (±0.25, ±0.75).
You have below a list with the Asian sports best variables and their description.
Example match Chelsea vs West Ham United
- Asian Handicap 0
a) Chelsea HA (0) – we win the bet if Chelsea wins; the stake is refunded if the match ends with a draw; we lose if West Ham United wins.
b) West Ham United HA (0) – we win the bet if West Ham United wins; the stake is refunded if the match ends with a draw; we lose if Chelsea wins.
- Asian Handicap ±1
a) Chelsea HA (-1) – we win if Chelsea wins at a difference of at least 2 goals; the stake is refunded in case Chelsea wins at a difference of a single goal; we lose if West Ham United wins or obtains a draw.
b) West Ham United HA (+1) – we win if West Ham United wins or makes a draw; the stake is refunded in case Chelsea win at exactly a single goal; we lose if Chelsea wins at less than two goals difference.
- Asian Handicap ±0.5
a) Chelsea HA (-0.5) – we win if Chelsea wins; we lose if West Ham United wins or makes a draw.
b) West Ham United HA (+0.5) – we win if West Ham United wins or makes a draw; we lose if Chelsea wins.
- Handicap Asiatic ±0.25
a) Chelsea HA (-0.25) – we win if Chelsea wins; we lose half the stake if the match ends with a tie, but the other half is refunded ; we lose the whole stake if West Ham United loses.
b) West Ham United HA (+0.25) – we win if West Ham United wins ; we win half the profit calculated with half the stake if the match ends with a draw and only half the stake is refunded in case of a tie; we lose the whole stake if West Ham United loses
- Handicap Asiatic ±0.75
a) Chelsea HA (-0.75) – we win if Chelsea wins at a difference of 2 goals; we lose half the stake in case Chelsea wins at a difference of a single goal, but half the stake is refunded; we lose if West Ham United wins or obtains a draw.
b) West Ham United HA (+0.75) – we win if West Ham United wins or makes a draw; we win half the profit calculated with half the stake if Chelsea wins at a difference of a goal, but half the stake is refunded; we lose if Chelsea wins at less than two goals difference.
- Handicap Asiatic ±1.5
a) Chelsea HA (-1.5) – we win if Chelsea wins at a difference of 2 goals; we lose the bet if Chelsea wins at a single goal difference or loses.
b) West Ham United HA (+1.5) – we win the bet if West Ham United does not lose at a difference of one goal; we lose if Chelsea wins at a difference of minimum 2 goals.
You can also bet using Asian Handicaps for corners, so you have more options.
Betting on Asian Handicap the chances of winning increase from 33.3% to 50% – 1×2 versus AH ±0.5. Using the Asian handicaps we have multiple half the stake protections, you can bet on the weaker opponent with multiple conditions for losing at number of goals, all these being impossible until this type of bet appeared.
In conclusion, in the world of sports betting you can only win from these Asian handicaps. The bettors’ inspiration is the one that tilts the scale, in their own pockets or in the bookmaker’s accounts.
