When it comes to soccer betting, you will be spoiled for choice when looking for different betting types. From moneyline bets to overs/unders and a large selection of proposition bets, however, out of all the options available, no bet type is as popular as Asian Handicap.
The Asian Handicap is bettors' most valuable tool when betting on soccer as it offers more flexibility and potentially higher payouts compared to the moneyline bet. And while it may be one of the most intriguing bet types, it can also be confusing to some, particularly when we start talking about figures such as 0.25 and 0.75.
A -0.75 bet might be the most puzzling to those unfamiliar with the Asian Handicap, but as long as you understand the basics of -1.00 and -0.50, you should have a firm understanding of how it works, what does it mean, and how to use it.
The -0.75 bet is essentially the combination of the two; however, we can't just leave you with this information, so let's take a deeper look into what the -0.75 bet in soccer means and how to read it.
Asian Handicap in Soccer
Before we can start talking about more complex bets, we first need to understand what Asian Handicap betting is. In very simple terms, Asian Handicap betting allows you to stake money on the outcome of a match in which one team is given a headstart while the other is handicapped.
Asian Handicap levels the playing field by giving a team that is perceived to be weaker a headstart of X goals. On the other side, Asian Handicap handicaps the team that is perceived to be stronger by taking away goals from them – requiring the team to win the match with more than X goals.
Example
Assuming we have a match between Liverpool and Burnley in the English Premier League. Liverpool are perceived to be significantly stronger, hence are expected to win the match with a large margin, whereas Burnley are expected to lose.
The bookmakers will offer odds of -500 on Liverpool and +1200 on Burnley to win the match, indicating that Liverpool's employed probability of winning is 83.3%, while Burnley's is at 7.7%.
As evident from the betting odds, Liverpool should be winning the match more times than not. But what if you believe Burnley can put up a fight and not lose by more than one goal?
Obviously, you can't predict that Burnley will keep the margin at a single goal with a full-time result bet, which is where Asian Handicap comes in handy.
With Asian Handicap, you can bet on Burnley with a +1.5 goal advantage at odds of +120. If Burnley end up losing with 0-1; or with any other score that shows a one-goal margin, your bet would win since you have given them an imaginary 1.5 goal advantage.
If Burnley lose 0-1, your bet will hit since the final result (after factoring in the handicap) will show 1.5-1 in their favor. The exact same approach works the other way, where bet on Liverpool with a-1.5 handicap, meaning that they need to win the match with at least two goals to overcome the 1.5-goal handicap.
Why 0.5, and What is a +0 Handicap?
The main idea and the biggest advantage of Asian Handicap is that it eliminates the possibility of a draw. If you pick a team with a +/-0.5 handicap, your bet will either win or lose because scoring "half a goal" isn't possible in soccer.
Note: The -0.5 handicap bet is the same as betting on one team to win by any number of goals. The +0.5 handicap is the same as a 1X bet, where you predict Team A will win or play a draw.
This introduces a scenario where there are only two possible outcomes to your bet - unlike how it is with a 1X2 bet, where there are three possible outcomes of the match.
If you go and check out all the possible handicap bets on offer, you will also see whole number handicaps (ex. +/-1, +/-2…). Those don't exactly follow the aforementioned advantage of Asian Handicap betting, granted the whole-number handicaps still help you avoid losing money on a draw.
If you were to bet on Burnley with a +1 goal handicap and they end up losing 0-1, the final score (after factoring in the handicap) would be a 1-1 tie. So, although you did not correctly predict the final score, you still won't lose the initial wager, which will get refunded.
The +0 handicap falls into the category of whole-number handicaps, and while it may seem complex, it really isn't. The +0 handicap is essentially a Draw No Bet (DNB) bet, where you pick a team that you believe will win, and if the game ends in a draw, you get your stake refunded.
The +0 handicap is vital to understand if you wish to know how 0.25 and 0.75 handicaps work.
How to Read and Use 0.75 in Soccer Betting?
The 0.25 and 0.75 are arguably the most complex handicaps, yet even those are very simple to understand, as long as you know the basics behind the +0, 0.5, and whole-number handicaps.
A very simple explanation of the 0.25 handicap is that it's a combination of the 0 and 0.25 handicaps. In comparison, the 0.75 handicap is the combination of the 0.5 and 1.0 handicaps.
Example of -0.75 bet
As noted above, the 0.75 handicap is the combination of the 0.5 and 1.0 handicaps. A better explanation that will help you understand the -0.75 bet is that it's two bets in one.
So, If you make a wager of $100 on -0.75 handicap, the initial wager gets split into two equal parts ($50) – one is placed on -0.5, and the other half is placed on -1.00.
- You wager $100 on -0.75 handicap
- One half ($50) gets placed on -0.5
- The second half ($50) gets placed on -1.0
So if we assume you bet on Liverpool at -0.75, you have to look at the result as if you had placed two bets – one on Liverpool with -1.00 and one on Liverpool with -0.5. So in more simple terms, you now have $50 on Liverpool to win the match (-0.5) and $50 on Liverpool to win with more than a goal (-1.0).
If Liverpool end up winning the match 1-0, only the first half of your bet (Liverpool -0.5) would have won, while the second part (Liverpool -1.00) would get refunded. This would result in your bet on Liverpool at -0.75 to be half-won.
The exact same principle applies to -1.75, where your bet is divided into -1.5 and -2.0; a -2.75 bet gets divided into -2.5 and -3.0, and so on.
Key Points
- The -0.75 handicap is two bets in one
- It combines -0.5 and -1.0 handicaps
- Your initial stake on -0.75 gets split into two equal parts
- One gets placed on -0.5, the other on -1.0
- You have to look at the final result as if you had placed two bets
