Tipping the Scales – How Weak Sides Stand a Chance in Sports Betting

The outcome of a football match is always unpredictable, regardless of the sides at play. The sport’s history is full of examples of giants brought down to their knees by pretty irrelevant teams. Who would bet against Italy in a match with North Korea? In 1966, Italy had already won the World Cup twice, but they were defeated by North Korea by 1-0. The result must have left supporters and punters dumbfounded. 

Nowadays, if you want to bet on such an uneven confrontation, you’ll probably find the weaker side handicapped. In this context, handicap means a virtual advantage of goals assigned by the bookie to the side that’s most likely to lose. So, the favourite side must overcome this advantage to be the bet winner. Here’s what you need to know about it.

A Head Start

Handicap bets are pretty common in sports betting, where it’s also called “spread.” The main point of this market is to increase the chances of a weak team by giving it a head start of one or a few points. It wouldn’t make much of a difference in the match between the Malagasy AS Adema and SO l’Emyrne, where they first won the game by 149-0 because the latter insisted on scoring own goals.

Still, such a manipulation aims to tip the odds to a nearly even money bet, turning the outcome more unpredictable. There are different kinds of handicaps, depending on the sport. In football, the most commonly used is the Asian handicap. So, in a match between the underachieving Super Eagles and powerhouses like Brazil or Argentina, you’re most likely to find that market.

The Asian Handicap

The Asian handicap betting sports bet consists of an advantage of decimal points. Consider a match between Side A and Side B, where Side A is the favourite. The Side B would then receive a handicap of 1.5 points. It means that Side A would have to win by two goals to be considered the winner. Conversely, Side B can’t lose by a margin above 1 point. Moreover, it’ll be considered the winner in the case of a draw. 

There are two kinds of Asian handicaps, but both of them consider only results during regular time. Read more about them below. 

Two-Way Handicap

The decimal handicap ensures that there can’t be draws. Since there aren’t half-points in football, sides can only win or lose. If you choose any side of this market, you’ll lose your bet in case of a tie.

Three-Way Handicap

The three-way handicap includes a draw scenario on top of the options offered by two-way handicaps, giving you three options. In this case, the advantage consists of a whole number. Let’s take Side A and Side B again, where Side A has a handicap tie of -2. It means that if Side A wins by two goals, it would still be considered a tie. 

Pros and Cons

Handicaps typically increase the odds for favourites, offering a chance of bigger wins. Also, winning this bet is possible even when your side loses within a certain margin. However, this market can be tricky for beginners. Unlike moneyline bets, this market requires quite a lot of research. It’s not a problem for fans, but occasional punters may find it overly complicated. Besides, higher odds also mean higher risks.  

Conclusion

Football is the most-watched sport worldwide. Unsurprisingly, it’s also among the most popular sports for betting. There are many betting markets to choose from involving more or less risks. Handicap betting is among the riskier ones. Since it makes the result less predictable, you’ll need to research more about the stats of the sides involved to increase your chances. Nevertheless, it’s based on a pretty simple principle.