In this guide, I will give you the low-down on what you need to know and do to make your own Asian handicap bets more successful. But before we get going I must tell you one thing – this is not a scientific formula that gets results every time. As any seasoned bettor will tell you, winning every bet that you place is going to be an impossible task.
But, what you can do is limit the mistakes that you make and in turn, see the number of winners that you have increase. Also, just wanted to highlight that this is a personal view on the bet365 brand and solely my opinions and experiences.
Asian Handicap Betting at a Glance
- Take on the favourites
- Learn what it all means
- Take advantage of new sports
- Do you research
Use the AH to Back Heavy Favourites
We all know that backing a heavy favourite in any match isn’t going to be making anyone rich quickly. When teams are priced at odds of 1.50 or even shorter most people would just walk on by to find something a little more enticing. But, this is the exact reason why Asian Handicap bets exist; to be able to back these short priced favourites with a certain goal deficit. The deficit in return evens the pricing out, making these bets a lot more appealing.
In fact, taking on the favourites is the bread and butter of Asian handicap betting and it gives me that reassurance that my net win is going to come from a result which is likely to go my way. Take a match between two greatly uneven teams; let’s say Arsenal play Hartlepool United in the FA Cup. I can confidently expect the Premier League team (Arsenal) to thrash the League One team (Hartlepool) by a good few goals, especially given that they have been scoring highly in their last few games and Hartlepool have conceded two or more in their last three.
I would look to wager on an Arsenal win with a -2.0 Asian handicap against the League 2 team. That means Arsenal must win by three goals or more for me to win the bet and if they only win by two to effectively level the score, then I will still get my stake back.
Whilst a Premier League team versus a League 2 team won’t happen every weekend, you will be surprised (or not) to see just how many similarly priced games like this there are in all of the major European leagues making them a hot bed for Asian Handicap punters.
Learn What It All Means
I know, I know – this may seem a bit obvious. But you would be surprised at how many punters out there don’t really understand the bets that they place and this is certainly the case with Asian handicaps.
I’ll admit it, I couldn’t get my head around the Asian handicap system at first but after spending a bit of time reading a few articles I felt clued up and confident enough to start betting for a net win. Luckily, you can find out all you need to know about the ins and outs of Asian handicap betting with these articles that I wrote.
Asian Handicap Betting Explained
7 Awesome Asian Handicap Betting markets
Take Advantage of New Sports
Asian handicaps are often always associated with football betting because they were initially used specifically for the sport which tends to give low scoring matches that often end in draws. In effect, Asian handicaps were created to try and provide more interesting betting possibilities. I for one can vouch that betting in the win-draw-win market week in and week out can be a bit boring!
With the growing popularity of Asian handicaps in general, other sports are beginning to take on the betting format. When I go to any good online betting site, I am starting to find that a lot of sports such as rugby league, rugby union and tennis have Asian handicap options where there are two outcomes with half number handicap values. I have even seen Asian handicaps in the darts!
You can use your own knowledge of different sports to use these new Asian handicap possibilities to your advantage. Take rugby union and rugby league for example – if you are a fan and know which teams are going to score a lot of tries against the smaller teams then what are you waiting for? Get an Asian handicap bet on them to overcome a points deficit!
Basically, what I’m trying to say is that look to use your knowledge base of different sports to implement an Asian Handicap betting strategy and don’t just limit yourself to football.
Do Your Research
Making a net win from Asian handicap betting is all about doing the research. Now, I know you may not have the time to sit sorting through page after page of form graphs and head-to-head statistics so I’m going to give you a few hints on how you can do the necessary research quickly and effectively.
When I make my Asian handicap bets, I first start by having a look at the fixture lists of all the weekend’s football throughout the UK football leagues. You can do this in foreign leagues or in other sports if you feel confident that you know enough about them. From this I make a short list of the fixtures where I think there could be a convincing win for the favourites.
After compiling my short-list, I look to see what other people are going for on social media sites such as twitter or on betting blogs. Often, these full-time tipsters do a lot of research into their bets and they can give some really good advice on which teams to back. If anything, seeing what other people are taking a punt on can reassure your own choices.
Once I’ve done this, I get serious with my short-list. Maybe whilst watching Soccer Saturday with a cup of coffee, I sit down with my laptop and take a bit of time to back up my own instinct and intuition by checking the form of the teams I have backed. I do this by looking at Whoscored.com and Soccerbase.com where I can find overviews and in depth statistics. I don’t go into the nitty gritty of the stats, I just see whether the teams I am thinking of backing have been scoring highly lately whilst checking that they have a strong defensive record.
When I am sure that the teams I want to back are likely to score a lot and be strong at the back then I do the same for the opposing team but in reverse – I want to make sure that the opposition won’t score a lot of goals or be hard to breakdown in defence.
It really doesn’t take that long to do this research and it gives me that added reassurance that the games I want to place an Asian handicap on are going to be one sided affairs. What’s more, seeing the current form of the teams I am backing can give me more insight into how big an Asian handicap I can stretch to.
Whilst all the information above is very true, there can be a lot more work involved if you choose to do so. Check out the strategy section where you can find a ton of other articles expelling how I make my selections.
The Final Word
Being more successful with your Asian handicap bets simply requires a little bit of time and effort to really get your head around the numbers and analyse the statistics. That way I can find out where the big winning margins are. It’s really not as difficult as it looks and you could be seeing an improvement in your own Asian handicap fortunes just by following the advice above. Good luck!