Asian handicap  betting, also known as Asian Line betting, is a form of betting made on any  sport where goals or points are scored. It is most commonly associated with  football betting.

Just like  in ordinary betting, in Asian Handicap betting, odds are offered on each team.  However, there is no draw option and the teams are each assigned a handicap,  usually a multiple of 0.5, which has a direct affect on the score line.

The  handicap is assigned in order to make the odds more evenly matched, usually at  a balance of roughly 10:11 in favour of the underdog.

For  example, in a Chelsea v. Ipswich  game, the normal betting odds might be:

Unless you  have some insider knowledge, Ipswich might not  look like a good bet. However, with Asian Handicap, the odds would likely be:

So now, if  you bet £10 on Ipswich, it is as if the score starts as Chelsea  0 Ipswich 2. As long as Chelsea score fewer than two goals, you will  walk away with £18.

But it  doesn’t end there. You might also see Asian Handicap markets that look like  this:

This is  known as split bet, where half of your bet goes on as a normal bet and half as  an Asian handicap bet.

So, if you  put £10 on Ipswich as a split bet, here are  the possible outcomes:

For some,  the idea of winning and losing at the same time seems too strange to consider.  Others like the way in which a split bet makes it possible to get half their  stake back in the event of a draw.

As with any  form of sports betting, the key is to know your market well. Deciding whether  to place a straight, handicapped or split bet depends heavily, of course, on  what you believe the outcome will be. If you have researched the form around  both teams to the extent that you feel you can accurately predict the score  line, it is always worth looking at an Asian handicap market, but as the table  above illustrates, accuracy is key and mistakes can be costly.

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