Backing a team to win a match bet is a popular way to bet, but there are games where there is a massive disparity between the favourites and the underdogs, In these situation it can be difficult to spot value in the win odds.
It is for this reason that handicap betting is becoming popular with serious punters, but what exactly is handicap betting and how should you bet on the handicap markets?
What is handicap betting?
Handicap betting is where a player or team is given hypothetical points or goals by an odds compiler ahead of the match so as to offer a more balanced assessment of the contest.
It usually only applies to sports where scores are marked in points, although it does exist in horse racing in the form of winning distance betting.
The aim of a handicap is to level the playing field between a favourite and an underdog. A bookmaker will give the underdog an advantage of, for example, one goal, and then offer odds on the favourites winning by more than that margin, the underdog winning when given the head start or a draw.
Asian Handicap betting takes away the possibility of a draw but for now we'll look at European Handicaps.
Handicap bet example
Celtic won 3-0 against Cliftonville in the away leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifying tie and so they are expected to comfortably win the second leg in front of their home fans.
As such it is 1/25 that Celtic beat Cliftonville. There will be little to no punters wishing to risk £25 to win £1 and so they want more even odds, which means betting on the handicap market.
The bookmakers, aware of the first leg result, set the handicap line at three goals. This means that Cliftonville are effectively given a three goal start and so the odds are calculated on whether or not they can overcome this disadvantage.
At full time the bet will be settled based on whether Celtic managed to overcome the handicap. So, if they win 4-0 then the score for settlement purposes will be 4-3, while a 2-0 win would see a handicap 3-2 win for Cliftonville.
How to place a handicap bet
Once you have grasped the concept of handicap betting, it becomes a regular part of your punting armoury and will allow you to bet on games that were previously off limits. Betting on them online is as simple as placing a wager on a regular match, with a simple click adding the selection to a betting slip.
Many of the big named bookmakers even allow customers to combine handicap results into accumulator bets, meaning that there really is no difference from a handicap bet and a bet on a regular result.