Soccer Betting and the Asian Handicap

Picking the best markets is essential if you want to build a successful long-term strategy when betting on soccer.

There are plenty of options, but one of the most popular among pro bettors is the Asian Handicap.

Asian Handicap betting has many advantages, especially in soccer. Most notably, it simplifies things. Unlike the traditional match result or full-time market,  there are just two outcomes to bet on.

A three-way event basically becomes a two-way event. It’s a refined version of the classic European handicap, with no option for a draw.

You also get a balanced line that takes into account the difference in the quality of both soccer sides. This can make it easier to build a sustainable soccer betting strategy based on solid research and statistical analysis.

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One of the first things you’ll want to do before betting the Asian Handicap on soccer is find a suitable site to bet with.

Most online betting sites offer soccer Asian Handicap betting, but that doesn’t mean they’re all worth using. Some are notably better than others.

The soccer betting sites and apps we recommend here are all safe and trustworthy places to bet real money. They offer a wide variety of betting markets, including the Asian Handicap, and many other additional benefits.

Before we proceed to some tips and tricks that could help you prepare a profitable long-term approach, we should explain how the Asian Handicap works in soccer betting.

Asian Handicap betting doesn’t start on “level terms” like it normally does. For the purposes of all bets on this market, one of the two competing teams is given an advantage effectively to even things out.

For example, the favorite

If you back the favorite to win, they have to cover their handicap for your wager to win. If you back the underdog to win, they need to win, draw, or lose by less than the advantage they are given.

There are different types of lines available, and they work in different ways. Let’s take a deeper look at the various options.

We’ll start with one of the most popular Asian handicap lines in soccer, the half goals. The logic behind this one is simple and the best way to understand the way this soccer betting market works is to look at an example.

Let’s say that Manchester United is playing Chelsea at home. The bookies offer the 0.50 Asian Handicap line, with Manchester United as the half goal favorite.

You believe that Manchester United will win this match, so you decide to back Manchester United (-0.50) on the Asian Handicap.

If the side does manage to win, your bet is a winner. In a case of a draw or a victory for Chelsea, your bet is lost

In the case that the Asian Handicap line was 1.50 instead of 0.50, this would mean that Manchester United has to win by at least two goals to cover it.

For example, if Manchester United wins 1-0 that’s not enough. You have to “remove” 1.5 goals from their score for the purposes of the bet.

The same logic applies to half goal lines in Asian Handicap, no matter if it’s 2.50, 3.50, or even more.

Another option is the whole goal Asian handicaps in soccer. These lines look similar to the European handicap. However, it is a bit more complicated because there’s the option for a push or return of your bet.

An Asian Handicap of 0, for example, is the same as the Draw No Bet market. If the team you backed wins, your bet wins. If the team loses, you lose your cash. The draw returns your funds into your account.

If we continue the example from above and assume that the Asian Handicap line is Manchester United (-1.0) against Chelsea. This would mean that a win by only one goal for Manchester United would effectively result in a draw.

Other whole handicap lines such as 2.00. 3.00, or higher work in exactly the same way.

If you back a favorite to win, it has to win with one goal higher than the Asian Handicap for your bet to be successful. If you back the underdog to win, it has to lose by one goal less than the Asian Handicap for your bet to win.

Underdog bets are also successful if the underdog draws or wins the game.

Finally, there’s the option to place an Asian Handicap soccer wager on a difference of a quarter goal such as 0.25 or 0.75.

A lot of people struggle to understand the logic behind such lines, but it is actually quite simple.

The main idea is that your bet is split into two even parts and work as separate wagers. For example, placing $10 on an Asian Handicap of 0.75 essentially means that you have made the following two bets.

To understand completely, let’s continue working with our Manchester United vs. Chelsea example.

The Asian Handicap line is Manchester United (-0.75) you decide to back them. They end up winning 1-0, so let’s see what happens with your bet.

To summarize, you win half of your bet and the other half goes back to your account.

No matter what quarter goal line you pick, it works the same way. For example, working with an Asian handicap of 1.25 would mean half of your money is placed at 1.00 and the other half at 1.50.

Here’s a useful chart that shows the different outcomes when betting the favorites on quarter goal handicaps.

And here’s one that shows the information when underdog betting.

A lot of professional soccer bettors are using the Asian Handicap market successfully. It eliminates one of the possible outcomes and balances the odds between the two teams by adding some advantage to the underdog.

If you want to try this soccer betting market and find a way to profit in the long term, you need to understand how the odds and lines are sets, and how they change.

The best sports betting sites have a similar approach when building the Asian Handicap lines. They calculate the expected goals for each team and set the starting lines and odds based on that.

Once the betting market is live and people actually start betting real money on Asian Handicaps, the bookies move the odds according to the volume. For example, if a lot of bettors are backing the favorite, this could lead to a better price for the underdog. It could even change the main line.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most important aspects of your preparation for betting on Asian Handicaps in soccer.

This is more general advice that applies to pretty much all types of soccer betting, but it’s essential when it comes to Asian Handicaps. You should always check previous results and evaluate them to extract the best possible idea of what to expect.

For a start, take a look at the bigger picture by assessing the performance of both teams for the last few months or even longer. This will broadly show you the overall quality of the sides.

The next step is to analyze the short-term trends.

Of course, you should always try to figure out the reason for any differences between the long-term expectations and the short-term trends. Sometimes a team has more confidence, or there could be injuries and suspensions that affect the level.

Simply put, be sure to spend a lot of time looking at the stats. It’s well worth it if you want to make money betting on Asian Handicaps in soccer.

There’s a lot of rotation in modern soccer. Teams don’t stick with the same group of 14 or 15 players as in the past.

They have a squad of 20 or more players, and the coaches and managers are trying to take full advantage of that.

No matter the reason for personnel changes, you should always explore the team news to try to understand what’s happening and why. Start with the basics and check if there are any injuries and suspensions. Even if only one player is missing, this could completely change things.

The more complicated part is to try and predict any possible rotations.

It’s worth looking at the schedule to see if teams have matches from other competitions coming up. When that’s the case, it’s likely the managers will be making some changes to keep their squad fresh.

With a bit of an effort, you should have a good idea of what to expect from the starting lineups and if there will be any changes that may affect the game significantly.

As in many other sports, the styles of opposing soccer teams can greatly impact the outcome of matches.

Some teams find opponents that play a certain style really tough, while doing well against teams of another style.

For example, a team that is great at the back and hits on the counter would be a challenge for an opponent that relies mostly on its attack and is shaky at the back.

This is only one obvious example, but the details are very important. Try to analyze the styles of each team in any match you’re betting on.

Top Tip

The main when soccer betting on the Asian Handicap is to build a picture of how a game will unfold. Working out how two teams matchup in terms of style can help a great deal with that.

Most of the aspects we covered so far are ways to evaluate both teams that are at least somewhat objective. This one is different.

We all know that the mental part of the game is important. Teams with confidence and are on a winning streak often perform better than expected and close at their maximum potential.

Conversely, if there is pressure and the atmosphere surrounding a soccer club is broken, it can have a negative impact on performances. Even the best players in the world can struggle under bad circumstances.

Working out the mental state of teams and individual players is difficult. There’s a lot of subjectivity involved, as you can’t always know what reaction to expect.

Nonetheless, this is something you should always have in mind when betting on the Asian Handicap in soccer.

One of the best things about Asian handicap is that it is available for live betting as well. This means you could watch the games and place your wagers as they’re being played.

A lot of smart bettors are making money from live Asian Handicap betting on soccer, and we some have advice that could help you join them

The fact you will be placing live wagers doesn’t mean you should not prepare for the match beforehand. Studying everything we described earlier will help you get a good idea of what to expect.

You don’t necessarily have to dig quite as deep as when placing a wager before the match, as you’ll be able to assess how the teams are playing with your own eyes. Some level of preparation is essential, though.

Once the game starts, you will be ready for most of the likely scenarios. Combine that with the actual events on the pitch, and it becomes easier to find solid opportunities to make profitable bets.

A lot of people place live soccer bets on Asian Handicap markets only by checking the stats for the games.

This is a sure way to waste your money in the long run, as the numbers don’t always reflect what’s really happening.

The fact is that stats can be misleading. For example, one of the teams might have more shots, but they could be efforts that hold no danger whatsoever.  The other team might have fewer chances, but better ones.

If you know the game, you will be able to spot the difference with ease and know what is going on. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the stats, of course, just that you shouldn’t rely on them in isolation of other factors.

Good timing is one of the most important things in sports gambling, especially when it comes to live betting.

Placing a wager a bit too early or a bit too late could change everything. If you want to consistently make money from Asian Handicap betting, or any type of live soccer betting, you’ll need to get your timing right.

For a start, don’t place a bet during the half-time break in matches. This is when the managers make the most changes in terms of tactics and try to motivate the players.

Another event that changes the flow of soccer games significantly is when a goal is scored. Placing a bet directly after one of the teams found the net is a bad idea. It could completely change the atmosphere of the match.

Be patient and wait for at least a couple of minutes to see what impact a goal has had.

Finally, we should mention one of the situations that cost many bettors money. Let’s say you were considering a bet on one of the teams, and it scores a goal before you manage to place it. This is super annoying, sure, but you need to stay calm and not get frustrated.

The initial opportunity you identified has gone. Take a breath, and start all over again. The bet you were planning to place may still be worth it, but you should reassess the situation and the revised odds and lines.

Now you know what the Asian Handicap is and have read our tips for building a winning strategy, it’s time to decide if this form of betting is for you.

Here are some of the main advantages of soccer betting on the Asian Handicap to help you make that decision.

A lot of other sports include only two possible outcomes at the end, but that’s not the case in soccer. The draw option makes it a bit more difficult to find the best value bets.

This problem is easily solved if you pick the Asian Handicap market.

It eliminates the tie as an outcome, so you are left with only two options. It’s much easier to build a successful strategy around that.

The bookmakers usually have one main line for Asian Handicap that offers close odds for both sides. However, the market is flexible, and there are often different levels of handicap to bet on.

This gives you the chance to select the bet you feel has the most value. If you think the favorite will beat the underdog heavily, for example, you can get better odds if you go for one of the higher handicap lines.

Top Tip

When Asian Handicap betting on soccer, you should always study the alternate lines and look to manage your risk/reward ratio to optimal levels.

Not all gambling sites offer Asian Handicap as part of their sports betting options, but most of them do. This means you will be able to find competitive odds by shopping around.

Our recommended soccer betting apps are a good place to start

In conclusion, if you love gambling on soccer and you haven’t tried Asian Handicap betting, you should at least give it a shot.

Plenty of successful bettors absolutely love this particular soccer market, and that should tell you something. Its flexibility provides a lot of opportunities to make some good money.