Guide from 1Win: What is Asian Handicap and How to Use it to Increase the Efficiency of Your Bets

The Asian handicap did not immediately become recognised by players and betting operators. Initially, it was popular only in Asia, and most international betting sites preferred to allow their users to bet only on European handicaps.

But the situation has changed over time, and now any self-respecting betting market player is sure to offer Asian handicaps in their listings. This is certainly the case with 1Win, one of the world’s leading betting operators with a long and successful history in Kenya. In this short guide, we will tell you what the Asian Handicap is and how you can use it to improve your sports betting performance.

Basics of Asian Handicap

In simple terms, an Asian handicap is a numerical expression of the advantage of one opponent over the other in some quantitative measure. It does not necessarily have to be only goals scored. For example, in hockey it can be a handicap on power plays or penalty minutes, in tennis it can be a handicap on aces or double faults.

At 1 Win Asian handicaps are available for betting in many sports disciplines, not only team sports. You can bet on Asian handicaps in line and live even in golf and snooker. This makes this type of betting universal, which provides it with additional attractiveness and popularity among bettors.

Varieties of Asian Handicap

Asian Half Handicap

This variant is the most popular among Kenyan betting enthusiasts, especially beginners, so it is also the most common at 1 Win. It is displayed as follows: the integer part can be any, and the fractional part is always only .5, e.g. 6.5, -2.5 and so on.

Let’s analyse this on the example of a fictional football match. Let’s assume that in the World Cup qualifying tournament the Spanish national team plays in Barcelona and hosts the Gibraltar team. The Spaniards are much stronger, which is reflected in 1Win’s quotes. The half Asian handicap on the Spanish team is set at -5.5. If you make such a bet, any victory of Spain with a difference of 6 or more goals – 6:0, 7:1 and so on – will be suitable for you. All such results will bring a win.

The opposite situation occurs when betting on positive Asian handicaps. Suppose that for some reason you believe that the Gibraltarians, despite the huge difference in class, are able to give the Spaniards a fight. Then you should bet at 1 Win on Gibraltar’s positive handicap +5.5. If the Spaniards win by 6 goals or more, this bet will lose. But in all other cases it will bring you a win.

Handicap with Integers

The essence remains the same, but since the Asian handicap is expressed as a whole number, there are three options for the outcome of such a bet – win, lose and return. Let’s return to the previous example. Let’s assume that you decided to slightly increase the final odds and instead of betting on the handicap of -5.5 bet 1 Win on a -6.0 handicap.

In this case, to win the bet you need Spain to win by 7 goals or more. If this difference is exactly 6 goals, the bet amount will be returned to your game balance, all other options will result in losing the bet. In the case of betting on the outsider with a positive handicap, the outcome will be similar to those described in the previous section of our review.

Asian Handicap with a Quarter

This is the most difficult type of Asian handicap to understand. The fractional part can be expressed in two ways – .25 and .75. This handicap is an intermediate variant between the whole and half handicap. It is becoming increasingly popular with Kenyan bettors as it offers many opportunities to both limit financial losses and increase your potential winnings at 1Win in the long run.

When you make such a bet, you sort of divide it into two parts. Let’s explain how it works, using the same example of a fictional match between Spain and Gibraltar. Let’s assume that you bet 1 Win on the victory of the Spanish national team with a handicap of -5.25. If the match ends with a difference of 6 or more goals in favour of the home team – the bet won. And if the Spaniards win with a difference of only 5 goals, half of the bet will be returned back to the balance.

Despite the apparent complexity, it is the handicap with a quarter that opens up the greatest prospects for bettors who prefer to bet on forfeits. Betting on such a handicap allows you to control risks and give you the opportunity to vary game strategies.

Of course, the odds on half handicaps will be higher than on a quarter handicap. But the possibility of getting back part of your bet in the event of a bad outcome is very valuable, especially when you consider the final result over the distance.

As you can see, Asian handicaps are a very interesting and promising topic, and every Kenyan bettor should try such bets. We advise you to start with half handicaps, then move to whole handicaps and then, when you gain experience, start experimenting with Asian handicaps with a quarter. And you will have a very wide field for such experiments, because 1Win offers Asian handicaps for many sports and betting markets.