Handicap in Betting
It is quite frequent in every sport that there is a huge difference in class between the two opponents. The outcome of the confrontation is more than 60 or 70% certain, and that makes it not a profitable wager. All the bookmakers in this case would offer odds in the vicinity of @1.10 or @1.20 at best. No punter would choose that price, except maybe novices who want to go shallow before they go deep.
The solution: A Handicap
It doesn’t have to be just a difference in class. It may just be a motive for more gains. To increase the probable profit from a bet, the bookies have devised the handicap system. The premise is rather simple. Assign a virtual positive (for the underdog) or negative (for the favorites) advantage and offer higher odds. Let’s see it in an actual example:
Team A is much better than Team B. Without a handicap at odds 1.10, a Euro would result in €1.10 payout. However, if the betting establishment says: «To consider it a win for Team A, they will have to win by at least 2 goals of difference» and offer @2.00 for the wager, then the payout for the same Euro would become €2.00. If the real outcome is a victory for team A with 1-0, the bet is actually lost. For it to pay, the result must be 2-0, 3-1, 4-2, etc… for team A.
It gets even better
To provide punters with even more options, the half handicaps appeared. The term denotes that the final result must be over but not equal to the limit. In the example above, a 2-goal difference would be enough to win the bet. However, if the handicap was 2.5, then Team A would have to win with 3 goals of difference instead of 2. The premise of the half handicaps was to eliminate the draw as a payable result.
However, punters seemed a lot happier to place wagers if they knew, that if they lost a bet, they would not lose all of their money. Again, the houses obliged by devising the quarter handicaps. Those come in 2 kinds: the ¼ handicap and the ¾ one. Both divide the wager into two parts. The first one is to the handicap below the limit and the second is to the one above the limit.
European and Asian Handicap
The main difference between those two are the quarter handicaps which are not available to the European betting establishments. Some bettors would prefer one system over the other as they would consider it simpler. Some other punters would choose the system that offers them the greater number of options.
The choice really depends on the character of the player. Arguably, the more conservative would go for the European handicap, the more adventurous for the Asian handicap. In fact, there’s a number of bettors that consider the whole premise a trap that doesn’t include fair odds. We suggest that you research the issue further and decide for yourselves.
