Sports betting represents one of the most fascinating form of gambling in the modern era. It is a seamless combination of high-octane sports events with the added zing of betting with odds, calculations, and predictions.
As sports betting has evolved through the years, bookmakers offer different types of betting markets to maintain excitement. In this article, we are going to discuss one such betting type, namely handicap betting.
Read on as we answer your questions related to handicap betting, which might help you the next time you try it out at any casino website.
What is Handicap Betting?
Traditional sports betting involves two teams, where you get the option to pick which side will eventually win. This type of betting is fun and exciting when both teams are equal in strength.
However, generally, not all real-life sports matches are played within equally strong teams. Some of them are played where strong teams are pitted against weaker opposition, or a certain team has the natural home advantage.
Matches like these are not the most exciting for betting fans. Hence, to make it more attractive, bookmakers came up with the concept of handicap betting.
To maintain a balance, handicap betting market gives odds advantage to the underdog team.
Although this type of betting can produce some upsets where the weak team can usurp the stronger opposition, leading to huge payouts for people who bet on the underdog. But, these types of results are rare, and generally, the stronger team defeats the weaker opposition.
A handicap or spread is a form of betting where bookmakers add a virtual disadvantage to the stronger team or an advantage to the weaker team. The odds are levelled out between both opponents, making the betting market more attractive.
For example, let us consider an English Premier League match between Chelsea and Brentford. Historically, compared to Brentford, Chelsea is a more successful and stronger football team. This means the odds are highly stacked against Brentford, making the match a dead rubber for betting fans.
Hence, to make it more exciting, betting websites like MCWMalaysia will add a handicap bet option to this football match. The handicap might resemble something like the following:
Chelsea (-1) (+154)
Brentford (1) (+120)
This means that at full-time, one goal will be deducted from Chelsea and one goal will be added to Brentford. Whether you win or lose your bet now depends on the new adjusted scoreline.
For sports events like football, where a draw is a possibility, handicap bets lead to a ‘push’ result. Push means the bet is not lost, and the players get back their original stake.
Why Are Handicap Bets Used in Sports Betting?
Sports betting is exciting when it is difficult for fans to predict the eventual winner of the game. However, sports matches in real life are not always played between equal teams. League sports like football, basketball, and baseball involve many teams, but there is a pronounced discrepancy in their abilities and strengths.
Bottom-placed teams tend to struggle against higher-rated teams, which leads to several dead rubber matches. Hence, to level the playing field for weaker teams, many bookmakers add handicap bets on matches that involve them. These small advantages make for a more balanced outcome for betting fans, which leads to more interest and excitement.
How Are Handicaps Calculated?
Handicap bettting odds differ from one bookmaker to another. This is because there is no way to correctly quantify the strength of a sports team. Hence, bookmakers tend to rely on their research and judgement when allocating handicap options.
Experts from websites like MCWMalaysia do a deep dive into the performance history of all the sports teams and rank them based on their ability and results. The bigger the gap between the two sides, the more lenient or restrictive the handicap will be.
Handicap Bet Types
Handicap bets, since they were introduced, have evolved to the point where bookmakers have come up with different variations. Let us take a look at some of the most commonly available handicap bet types.
- 2-Way Handicap: 2-way handicaps are the most popularly used handicap option. This type of betting can only be applied to sports that do not involve draw or tie outcomes. 2-way handicap bets are most commonly used for American sports betting since most popular sports in America do not have a tie outcome.
- 3-Way Handicap: The 3-way handicap was mostly introduced for European betting enthusiasts, specifically football fans. Since league football matches often end up in draws where the scores are levelled,
For 3-way handicaps, the favourite team is given a disadvantage, the underdog is given an advantage, and finally, there is a third option for drawn results.
Take, for example, a match between Real Madrid and Getafe.
Real Madrid (-1) Getafe (1) Draw (1)
For this match, if a punter bets on the draw option and the final scoreline is 2–1 in favour of Real Madrid, Then, due to the +1 handicap, Getafe will be awarded a goal, and the handicap adjusted scoreline would be 2 – 2. This result will cause the draw bet to win.
- Whole Number Handicaps: Whole number handicaps are self-explanatory since they involve whole numbers. One of the most unique aspects of whole number handicaps is that they often result in a draw, leading to a push result and the stake is recovered. This type of handicap is much safer, as you get the option of recovering your original stake.
- Half-Number Handicaps: Half-number handicaps are opposite to their whole-number counterparts as they involve decimals. This type of handicap is specifically designed to avoid drawn results.
Most common half-number handicap values resemble +1.5, +2.5, -2.5, etc. Since sports scores do not have any decimal scores, punters will always have a win-or-lose result.
This means the bookmaker will not have to hand out any push bets. Half-Number Handicaps are more risky but have bigger odds.
Conclusion
The concept of handicap bets is a wonderful addition to sports betting since it adds a bit of spice to the more predictable games. It gives punters who like to bet on underdog teams an added sense of belief and optimism.
Additionally, punters who like more complex betting odds, strategies, and multiple outcomes can opt for handicap bets. At MCWMalaysia, you can try out numerous handicap betting options, as well as traditional betting markets.
