Profit on Asian handicap

Pros & Cons of using Asian Handicap in your betting strategy

• Pro - Asian Handicap betting provides steady betting odds with good liquidity, making it easier to place bigger stakes.
• Pro - Asian Handicap betting is easier to stake evenly on, eliminating the risk of judging how to stake on varying odds.
• Con - Asian Handicap can be a frustrating form of betting to some people, as it requires a lot of patience. Slow and steady wins the race.
• Con - Whilst this method of betting should make for a bettor win percentage than best odds above even money, you'll need to win 55% of sports bets over the long term to make a profit from sports betting.

How can Asian Handicap boost your profits?

Understanding this betting market is crucial to developing a good betting strategy and helps you to understand that just because a team is likely to lose a game, they may well be a solid asian handicap bet.

Asian Handicap betting is arguably a fantastic option for a few reasons. Firstly you may feel more protected when using a whole line. A -1 asian handicap offers a degree of comfort. When you assess a team is likely to win by two clear goals or better there are options that allow you to bet on that such as 'To win by two or more goals' betting market or -1.5AH. By taking the -1AH you know that if the team wins but by only one goal your money is safely returned.

Another reason is you don't have to bet small odds on the favorite or risk money on the underdog. The main Asian Handicap betting market for any game usually offers best odds around 1.90 and a handicap that is meant to reflect the gaps in quality between two teams.

Here are some things to be aware of when forming an Asian Handicap betting strategy.

Margins of games

You have to firstly have a strong understanding of what it is you're betting on of course and it's good to specialise in one country or league. Having an understanding of how things work in that league will help you greatly. For example Barcelona may have won X amount of home games by three or more goals, so a -1.5AH for the visit of Sociedad seems a great opportunity. Not knowing that league may mean you're unaware of how often Barcelona often struggle to outscore Sociedad greatly, or even at all.

It's important to research and record the margins by which teams are winning and losing. Asian Handicaps are based on lots of factors including form, league table and the predicted gap in quality between the two sides. Although these factors are important, how often do a team travel with a specific game plan to stop that team? A lot. They've worked on it all week long and quite often it'll work at least in part.

A side could be top of the table having won every game yet could be overvalued in the Asian Handicap betting market. They may have won as many as 70% of those games by just the one goal, so understanding that allows you to manage risk and make wise decisions. With information like that in tow you now know that going over a -1AH is a risk. If the set handicap is at -1.5AH or higher you know you need to move on to the next game, because you're likely getting poor value.

Team News

Bookmakers love punters betting on favorites, especially on big asian handicaps, because they know that's what people are drawn to do and that's what will make money. Upsets happen every day in every league. Asian Handicap offers much more coverage and it is often assigned to a team holding more value. When a player is injured, do you think the best bookmaker is concerned about adjusting the lines accordingly? Probably not.

Barcelona being minus Lionel Messi might in reality be the difference between -1.5AH and -1AH, but the best bookmakers know that most casual bettors won't have checked the team news and may not even know about that absence anyway. So the bet is placed, and it loses. Lionel Messi may have been that difference. Fine margins.

Average Goal Times

This is actually a really important thing to consider because it ties in with the psychology of football, which can go a long way to deciding what happens next. Here's a scenario where a home team are near the top and hosting a struggling team. This struggling team often loses away from home. Scores vary, but they've been on the wrong end of some hammerings recently. The handicap is likely going to be heavily in favour of the home team because that's exactly what the bookies want you bet on.

Actually, this home team quite often doesn't score their first goal until well into the second half. If a goal is scored early then you'd expect the poor team to be in trouble. But when a goal doesn't come until the 70th minute, mentalities are a little bit different. There will be an element of restraint and hold what we have from any home side, which instantly increases the chances of the trailing side scoring the next goal.

Those are just some thought provoking things that may better inform your own Asian Handicap betting strategy.

Situational Strategy

This is similar to an idea derived from US Sports where it's rife within point spread betting. Don't bet the teams, bet the situation. Team news and the absence of big players can affect a game. The loss of a key player can be the difference between scoring three goals and no goals. Sometimes it's easy to underestimate the importance of a key player.

Another situational factor is having to play your third game in seven days whilst the opposition has only played two. That one extra game in the middle interrupts the recovery cycle which has to start over again ahead of game three. A fixture build up can often mean even the best of teams underperform in certain situations. It's also a good betting strategy that considers history. Regardless of a team's form, knowing they've slipped up and often struggled at a certain ground, against a certain team or even during a certain month are all more relevant than you think.

Motivation is also a big factor. One team may have already achieved what they set out to do, whilst the other may have a relegation battle to fight. It's funny how two teams can be on such different paths all season, but the presence of certain motivations can have a massive impact on the outcome of any game.

Who might benefit from Asian Handicap in their betting strategy?

Asian Handicap betting is most popular with the sport of Football but is also a betting market offered for Rugby and Tennis. Because there are so many betting markets in football it's more likely a professional bettor would take the time to employ asian handicap betting strategies, whilst a casual bettor will settle for match market and special markets. Both casual and professional bettors are more likely to employ asian handicap betting and strategies where Tennis and Rugby are concerned, because there are appreciably fewer markets available to bet on.

A good asian handicap strategy is key to success. If you bet without research you're preparing to fail. Many bettors assume that the higher ranking teams, teams in better form and generally better-rated teams are going to beat the handicap more often than not.In reality, it's hard for anyone to beat anyone by more than the asian handicap suggests at the top level of sport.