With so many different bet types and betting odds formats out there, it’s no surprise that some bettors will find themselves scratching their heads, trying to figure out what a certain combination of the two means. Of course, there are endless possibilities when combining bet types and odds; however, they’re all very easy to understand if you figure out the basics.
Today, we will look at a very common combination of an Asian Handicap (-1.5) and American odds format (-115) and try to answer the question what does -1.5 at -115 mean in soccer betting. The basic answer is straightforward – it shows that a bet on a team with a -1.5 goal handicap is priced at -115 - but obviously, we have to dig a bit deeper into the question and try to figure out how this bet type and odds format work.
How to Understand the American Odds Format (-115)?
As established above, the -115 is nothing more than betting odds offered on a particular match. Bettors from North America will have a very easy time understanding this format. In contrast, it might be an unknown format for bettors from other parts of the globe, where the American odds format isn’t that common.
Luckily, understanding how to read American format is just as simple as the fractional and decimal format. As with any other thing, you just need to get a firm grasp of the basics.
The American format will always feature at least triple digits, which are accompanied by either a minus (-) or a plus (+). To keep things simple, we will first start with the positive numbers and work our way from there.
Example 1
For this example, let’s assume we have an English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea, where Arsenal are priced at +330.
The first thing we need to get out of the way is that if a team is priced with positive odds (+), it means that they’re the underdogs. The opposite holds true for negative (-) odds.
The +330 on Arsenal indicates how much profit you will make with a $100 bet on the team if they win. In this instance, a $100 bet on Arsenal would earn you $330 in profit.
The exact same principle applies for any other odds; +200 earns you $200 in profit for every $100 placed; +700 earns you $700 profit, and so on.
Note: It is important to keep in mind that we’re talking about PROFIT and not the total payout. While profit shows how much money you will make with your bets, the total payout combines the profit and the initial wager.
Example 2
With the positive odds out of the way, we can focus on the negative odds. For this example, we will take the same match between Arsenal and Chelsea, where Chelsea are priced at -115.
Since we have established that positive odds indicate which team is the underdog, it only makes sense that the negative odds show which team is billed as the favorite.
Unlike how it was with positive odds, where the figure showed how much money you will make for each $100, the negative odds tell you how much money you need to bet to earn $100.
In this instance (-115), you will need to place a $115 wager to earn $100. The same principle applies to all other odds.
How to Understand the Asian Handicap (-1.5)
If you’ve come so far, you should already understand how to read the American odds format. Now everything you have left to do is to understand how the Asian Handicap works, and you’ll be set to start betting on the most popular soccer betting market!
The Asian Handicap bet type has been introduced for two simple reasons: it prevents the possibility of a draw, and it levels the playing field by handicapping the stronger teams or by giving weaker teams a goal head start.
Example
In the example above, we used a match between Arsenal and Chelsea, where Arsenal are the underdogs, while Chelsea are billed as the favorites. As the betting odds would suggest, Chelsea should win the match with relative ease, whereas Arsenal are expected to struggle.
Assuming you believe in Chelsea’s supremacy and anticipate that the Blues will win the game with a commanding score, you would start exploring options in the Asian Handicap market.
The Asian Handicap allows you to pick which team will win and predict by how much the team will win. If you have faith that Chelsea will win the match with at least two goals, a bet on Chelsea with a -1.5 goal handicap would be the way to go.
The goal handicap (in this example -1.5) gets deducted from the final scoreline. So, if Chelsea win with 2-0, the final score after factoring in the goal handicap would show 0.5-0 in favor of Chelsea.
You can apply the exact same logic to any handicap number to any scoreline.
What Does -1.5 at -115 Mean in Soccer Betting
If you opened this article wondering what does -1.5 at -115 mean in soccer, you should now be equipped with all the needed knowledge to answer that question.
If you’ve skipped the article to this point, here’s a short recap; -1.5 is an Asian Handicap (bet type), whereas the -115 indicates the betting odds (American format).
The -1.5 handicap indicates that you’re betting on a team to win the match with at least two goals to spare. On the other side, the -115 odds tell you that you need to place $115 on the bet to earn $100.
So If you bet $115 on Chelsea -1.5 at -115, and if Chelsea win the match 2-0 or by any greater margin, you would earn $100.
The Asian Handicap bet type means the same and is used the same way at any bookmaker in the world, while you might want to check our explanation of the American odds format above if you wish to understand what the odds mean and how to use them.
