4/15/2022

How Does Handicap Betting Work In Football

The handicap market is where you bet on a team that begins the game with a disadvantage (or handicap) and needs to score more goals in order to beat the opposition. Alternatively the opposition is given a head start at the beginning of the game, and can win the game by just drawing the match (or winning outright).
Handicap Market (90Min)
Man United (-1)
Burnley (+1)

Draw
The handicap market is an exciting market that makes one-sided games more interesting. This market makes the “playing field even” when one side is better than the other. In this bet a handicap is given to the team that is considered better than their opposition. It means that instead of just winning the match, they have to win by greater than the handicap in order to win in this market. By the stronger team having to score more goals, the weaker team in reverse is given an advantage to win in the match. The weaker side no longer has to win the game, as they are given a number of goals start before the game starts.
In this market the stronger team will start with negative goals at the start. If you back the stronger team to win the game on the handicap, you will need them to win the game by more goals than what they were deducted at the start.
In this market the weaker team will start with more goals than the stronger side. Therefore they have to either win the game, or they need lose the game by less goals than they were given at the start.
Here is an example:
Chelsea is playing Wolves, and Chelsea is the stronger team. The handicap market could well look like this:
Chelsea (-2) vs Wolves (+2)
Because Chelsea is the stronger team here, they will start the game 2 goals behind. If you believe Chelsea will win the game by more than 2 goals, then you will back Chelsea (-2). Chelsea must win by 3 clear goals for this to be a winning bet.
Because Wolves are the weaker team, they will start the game 2 goals ahead. If you believe that Wolves will either win the game, or lose by less than 2 goals, then you would bet on Wolves (+2). If Wolves win the game outright or lose by just 1 goal, then this option is a winner.
Note that the goals are only deducted or added to the team that you bet on. It does not take off goals from both sides.
Here is a score line scenario:
Chelsea 4-1 Wolves
Here are the difference between the scores is 3 goals.
Therefore if you bet on Chelsea (-2), you would minus 2 goals from Chelsea’s score.
Chelsea scored 4 goals, if you minus 2 the score line will now be Chelsea 2-1 Wolves.
Here Chelsea has still won the game even though they had a handicap of 2 goals. If you bet on Chelsea (-2), then you would be a winner.
If you bet on Wolves (+2), you would add 2 goals to the Wolves’ score. Wolves scored 1 goal and adjusting for the handicap the result would now be Chelsea 4-3 Wolves.
Therefore even though Wolves had a 2 goal head start, they still did not manage to win the game on handicap.
You can also bet on the game to be a tie/draw. For instance if the score line was:
Chelsea 3-1 Wolves
Chelsea are (-2), then you would minus 2 goals from Chelsea’s score. The score line is now Chelsea 1-1 Wolves, so the game is a handicap draw.
Likewise, Wolves are (+2), and you add 2 goals to the Wolves score, the score line would be Chelsea 3-3 Wolves
Therefore the scores are tie, and if you bet on the tie on the handicap, you would have a winning bet.
If the result was a draw at 90 minutes with the score Chelsea 1-1 Wolves then you must adjust for the handicap, in this instance Wolves (+2) would be the winning selection, with a handicap result of
Chelsea 1-3 Wolves
The handicap is an exciting and fun bet, especially when the handicaps are very high! It can make the most average games very enjoyable to watch.

How does a point spread bet work? A point spread bet is also referred to as betting the spread or handicap betting. Point spread betting is a sports betting market in which a team either has to win. Handicap football betting involves making the perceived difference in quality between the two teams redundant in terms of a bet. Essentially, it levels out the playing field when there is an overwhelming favourite in a football match. In terms of football. Handicap Betting in Summary. Handicap betting provides one team with a goal disadvantage (-0.5, -1, or 1.5 for example) for betting purposes. This can make games with a superior team more equal. Handicap betting in football. While handicap bets are available in a wide array of sports, their most common application is found in football betting, due to the large number of events you can place handicap bets on. You can place handicap bets on the final result of the game, on yellow cards, corners, the number of goals scored by each.

Find out the meaning of soccer handicap betting, how it works and the different types of soccer handicap betting markets available at Pinnacle. Continue reading to become a handicap betting expert.

In soccer as is an all competitive sports there is normally a difference in perceived quality of the opposing teams; the size of that difference varies depending on a complex range of influences ranging from historical dominance and financial backing to situational factors such as home field advantage or player injuries/availability. Soccer betting interprets these factors and represent them as chances of success for each side in the form of odds.

Handicap betting explained

Where the perceived difference in abilities is significant the betting odds on the favourite will be so small that it provides minimal returns and therefore little incentive for bettors.

Handicap
How does handicap betting work in football betting

A numerical figure set by the bookmaker to counter the perceived bias in abilities of opponents - this provides more balanced odds.

To counter the perceived bias in abilities, and to provide more balanced and appealing odds, bookmakers offer what is known as handicap betting. In the context of soccer, the Handicap odds level the playing-field by accounting for difference in perceived strength of the participants by literally applying a goal handicap - positive and negative - to each side. This gives bettors the opportunity to find more value than when backing a heavy Favourite in traditional 1X2 bet - the most common way to bet on soccer.

The handicap is applied to the actual outcome of the game in order to grade (result) the bet. There are three types of Handicap bets you need to be aware of before betting:

Level Handicap

A level Handicap is where there is no perceived difference in abilities between Team X and Team Y, so no Handicap bias is assigned and both teams start with 0 goals.

To win a bet, the bettor must identify the team which they think will score more goals than their opponent. This type of handicap isn't relevant for one-sided encounters but is useful in that it eliminates the draw; if the game ends in a tie all bets are refunded because on a zero handicap neither team has any advantage.

Single Handicap

A single Handicap occurs when there is a perceived difference in abilities between Team X and Team Y.

The alleged superior team will be given an appropriate goal handicap to level the playing field for betting purposes i.e. -0.5 goal, -1 goal, -1.5 goals etc.

For example, if you bet on Team X with a handicap of -1 goal, they must win by more than one goal to cover their handicap and win you your bet.

If they only win by one goal, the result with the handicap applied is a draw for betting purposes, so your bet is refunded. If Team Y draw or win, you will lose your bet on Team X.

Split Handicap

A split Handicap occurs when the difference between the two teams’ abilities is small; allowing you to spilt your stake over two handicaps.

A split Handicap occurs when the difference between the two teams’ abilities is small; allowing you to spilt your stake over two handicaps.
How Does Handicap Betting Work In Football

For example, Team X might be offered at (0 & -0.5). If you bet on Team X and they lose, you will lose both bets, as they did not cover either handicap.

Football

If the match ends in a draw, half of your stake at (0) will be refunded, and the other half at (-0.5) will lose. If Team X wins however, both handicaps will be covered, so both bets win.

If you’re stuck in the past slavishly following three-way fixed odds betting, the chances are you’re not getting a decent return on your investment, and your betting might benefit from the fresh perspective that soccer handicap betting provides.

How Does Handicap Betting Work In Football Score

Now that you know how handicap betting can be used to increase your profits, don't miss out on our number one most popular article - Staking: One method to improve your betting.

Handicap betting video explainer

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