Asian Handicap betting explained

Asian Handicap (AH) betting, as the name suggests, originated and is a popular way of betting in the Far East. One of the major advantages of AH betting is that you eliminate the possibility of the draw in a football game.

This is achieved by, in most cases, giving the favourite a handicap to overcome and the underdog a headstart of the same value. Any handicap is taken from/added to the actual final score of the match to determine the outcome of your bet. Handicaps are generally referred to as "ball(s)" in AH terminology.

Handicaps are generally referred to as "xxx Ball"

The best way to explain AH betting is via some examples.


Level Ball

The first one we will start with is whats known as "level ball" handicap. This will usually be in use when the two teams are very evenly matched in normal fixed odds betting terms.

Level ball will normally be displayed on a bookies site in the following manner

Arsenal v Man Utd 1.90 0:0 1.95

1.90 is the price on Arsenal
0:0 is the handicap - in this case neither team receives any start
1.95 is the price on Man Utd

So what happens when the final score is known?

In all cases we will work on 10pts being staked on your favoured outcome.

In the above example


If you backed Arsenal

If Arsenal win, you get paid at 1.90 = 19pts returned - 9pts profit
If its a draw, your stakes are returned = 10pts returned - no loss
If Man Utd win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss


If you backed Man Utd

If Man Utd win, you get paid at 1.95 = 19.5pts returned
If its a draw, your stakes are returned = 10pts returned - no loss
If Arsenal win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss

if your selection doesn't lose, your stake is returned

The benefit of the level ball AH (or any AH where the scores finish level after the addition of the handicap) as opposed to a normal handicap bet is that if your selection doesn't lose, your stake is returned.




Half Ball

The next example is actually a jump over one level to whats known as "half ball"

Half ball will normally be displayed on a bookies site in the following manner

Liverpool v Aston Villa 1.90 0:½ 1.95

This can be regarded as Liverpool, being favourites, giving a half ball, or goal, start to Aston Villa

So what would be the outcomes if you bet on this match?


If you backed Liverpool

If Liverpool win, by any score, you get paid at 1.90 = 19pts returned - 9pts profit
If the match is a draw or Villa win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss


If you backed Villa

If its a draw, you get paid at 1.95 = 19.5pts returned - 9.5pts profit
If Villa win, you get paid at 1.95 = 19.5pts returned - 9.5pts profit
If Liverpool win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss


If the game finished 1-1 and you had taken Villa then the reason you get paid is because when you add the ½ goal handicap to the final score it becomes Liverpool 1 Villa 1½ - therefore Villa are the winners on the AH.

a good idea if you fancy a team "not to lose"

This type of bet is a good idea if you fancy a team "not to lose" and they are receiving the half ball start. You are effectively getting them to draw and to win.



Whole Ball

The next bet is again jumping over one level and moving to whats known as "whole ball". This will occur when one team is favoured over another and to balance the odds the underdog gets a "whole ball" or one goal start.

Whole ball will normally be displayed on a bookies site in the following manner

Arsenal v Fulham 1.90 0:1 1.95

This means that the score, for AH purposes, starts at Arsenal 0 Fulham 1. Whatever score the game actually ends, 1 goal is added to Fulhams total.

So what would be the outcomes if you bet on this match


If you backed Arsenal

If Arsenal win by at least a 2 goal margin, you get paid at 1.90 = 19pts returned - 9pts profit
If Arsenal win by a single goal margin, your stakes are returned = 10pts returned - no loss
If Arsenal draw or lose, you lose your stakes = no return - 10 pts


If you backed Fulham

If Arsenal win by at least a 2 goal margin, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss
If Arsenal win by a single goal margin, your stakes are returned = 10pts returned - no loss
If Arsenal draw or lose, you get paid at 1.95 = 19.5pts returned - 9.5pts profit

getting a better return than the normal fixed odds price

Benefits of this bet are if you fancy a team to win but are put off by the price on the fixed odds betting then take them on the AH -1 goal. If, as you expect, they win then the worst case for you is stakes are returned for a one goal winning margin. If they win by more then you are getting a better return than the normal fixed odds price.



One and a half ball

Again jumping over one level and in to the area where one team is strongly favoured on normal fixed odds prices and are therefore handicapped by one and a half goals.

One and a half ball will normally be displayed on a bookies site in the following manner

Arsenal v Wolves 1.90 0:1½ 1.95


Payouts on this scenario follow the half ball payouts except if you back Arsenal then they have to win by 2 clear goals. A one goal win, draw or loss sees you lose your stakes. If you back Wolves then they can afford to lose by 1 goal and they would still win on the AH betting.

if they are good enough to win by at least a couple of goals

Again if you fancy a team strongly and think they are good enough to win by at least a couple of goals then this could be a worthwhile bet. Or likewise if you think the underdog will keep the game tight then you may want to back them receiving 1½ ball/goal start and hope that the worst result they get is a single goal loss.


After 1½ ball the AH can move up in half ball/goal terms to 2 ball/goal, 2½ ball/goal and so on. The payout rules are the same as the relevant "level ball" and "half ball" terms, allowing for adding whatever the relevant handicap is to the final score.



Quarter Ball(s)

I mentioned jumping over levels above and that takes us into the area of "quarter balls". These are sometimes called "split handicaps" as the are effectively two seperate bets.

Quarter balls are actually a mix of two seperate AH bets, which ones depend on the level of the handicap.

The first example we will look at is the "quarter ball".

Quarter ball will normally be displayed on a bookies site in either of the following ways

Arsenal v Chelsea 1.90 0:¼ 1.95

or

Arsenal v Chelsea 1.90 0:0,½ 1.95

Both bets are identical, some bookies favour the first method of displaying them, others the second

The second is actually an easier way of explaining how quarter balls work. As I mentioned above, a quarter ball is actually the combination of 2 seperate bets. If you bet on the above match with 10pts what you are effectively betting on is

5pts on the level ball handicap and 5pts on the half ball handicap.

If it's a draw you lose HALF your stakes

So, how do you get paid on quarter balls?

If you backed Arsenal

If Arsenal win you get paid at 1.90 = 19pts returned - 9pts profit
If it's a draw you lose HALF your stakes = 5pts returned - 5pts loss
If Chelsea win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss


If you backed Chelsea

If Chelsea win you get paid at 1.95 = 19.50pts returned
If its a draw HALF your stakes are returned and you win the other HALF at 1.95 = 14.75pts returned - 4.75pts profit
If Arsenal win, you lose your stakes = no return - 10pts loss


The reasoning behind the returns is due to what I mentioned above with your stake being split into two seperate bets.

On the Arsenal side you would receive your 5pts back on the level ball handicap if the game ended in a draw but lose your 5pts on the half ball as Chelsea would have actually won that portion of the AH bet.

On the Chelsea side you also receive your 5pts back on the level ball handicap part of the bet if the game ended in a draw. You would however also win your 5pts bet on the half ball as Chelsea won that portion of the AH bet.


Its best to always think of quarter ball handicaps as two seperate split stakes bets. From there the payout rules are the same for the level ball and half ball handicaps for each half of your bet.


The next level, between half ball and whole ball is 3/4 ball


3/4 ball

Again, this can be displayed in 2 ways depending on your bookies

Arsenal v Man City 1.90 0:¾ 1.95

or

Arsenal v Man City 1.90 0:½,1 1.95

As in all quarter ball AH's your stakes are split in two seperate bets. In the above example you have 5pts on the half ball handicap and 5pts on the whole ball handicap.


Payout rules

If you backed Arsenal

If Arsenal win by one goal you win HALF your stake at 1.90 and other other HALF of your stake is refunded = 14.5pts returned - 4.5pts profit
If Arsenal win by two goals then you get paid at 1.90 = 19pts returned - 9pts profit
If its a draw or Man City win, you lose your stake = no return returned - 10pts loss


If you backed Man City

If Man City win or draw you get paid at 1.95 = 19.50pts returned
If Arsenal win by one goal, you lose HALF your stake and the other half is refunded = 5pts return - 5pts loss
If Arsenal win by two goals, you lose your stake = no return - 10pts loss.


From there the handicap moves to 1¼, 1¾ etc and these fit in between the 1 ball, 1½ ball and 2 ball handicaps.

Depending on the strength of the favourite the handicap can be as high as the bookies feel is relevant.



Summary and benefits of AH betting

Level ball, and all subsequent +1 ball bets, means stakes returned if your selection ends up drawing when the handicap is added to the final score.

Half ball, and all subsequent +½ ball bets, mean your either going to win or lose, there will be no refund of stakes if the result does not go your way. Its also an easy way to take a team "not to lose" if they are in receipt of the +½ ball handicap.

Quarter ball(s) means you should view your bet as two seperate bets and your returns will be based on the appropriate level ball and half ball terms.

Chances of your stake being fully refunded if your selection only draws or loses by a certain margin.

Chances of half your stakes being refunded if again your selection doesn't quite beat the handicap. Remember any return is better then none at all.


One of the biggest benefits is the reduction in the bookies over-round. A good example is the following odds from Portsmouth v Newcastle on 29/2/2004 with Premierbet.

Portsmouth 3.20
Draw 3.25
Newcastle 2.20

Book = 107.5%

Portsmouth +¼ 1.975
Newcastle -¼ 1.925

Book = 102.6%

From the above its obvious which bet the punter is getting the best deal from.


This can then lead to the chance of a team being a better price on the AH betting than the normal fixed odds betting - and the returns being dependent on the EXACT same outcome. Note the following example from Premierbet for a game on 29/2/2004.

Deportivio 2.00
Draw 3.25
Barcelona 3.40

and on the AH

Deportivo -½ 2.10
Barcelona +½ 1.75

Its always worthwhile checking the AH price for your selection as, in the above example, if you fancied Deportivio then your getting a better price on the AH but require the same outcome as the fixed odds bet - Deportivo to win - to get a return.