What Is Asian Handicap, Corners & Goal Lines Betting?

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We understand that Asian Betting seems like a challenging idea to grasp. It may even scare you a little. But don't worry, we are going to make it very simple for you to understand.

Asian Betting is advantageous if appropriately used, and it's a real shame such a large number of sports bettors avoid it.

Why Is It Called Asian Betting?

This type of betting originated in the Asian betting markets, where they only wanted a bet to have two outcomes; either Team A wins, or Team B wins. Having a draw wasn't desirable, so the Asian Betting system eliminates that possibility.

Later, Asian Handicap Betting was expanded to other betting markets where there are now three possible outcomes.

Here are the three main types of Asian Betting we regularly see in football (soccer) markets?

Asian Goal Lines
Asian Corner Lines
Asian Handicaps

The first two are the easiest to explain, and luckily, the most frequently used, so we'll start there.

Asian Goal Line Bets

Also known on online bookmaker sites, like Bet365, as Goal Line or First Half Goal Lines.

Asian Lines become easier to understand when you realise there are just two types:

Half Numbers (i.e.Over 0.5 Goal Line)
Whole Numbers (i.e. Over 1.0 Goal Line)

Half Number Asians are EXACTLY the same as standard goal bets. Over 0.5 Goal Line is identical to Over 0.5 Goals.

Surprisingly, if you use Bet365, you will find that the Asian Goal Line often offers better odds than the standard goal bet lines. It seems to be an anomaly that's worth exploiting to get a better price. Here’s an example:

Whole Number Asian Lines require more goals to win the bet, but you get much better odds AND a safety margin built-in.

Let's take a look at an example:

You are watching a game that's 0-0 at 70mins, and you have a couple of goal betting options.

Over 0.5 Goal Line at 2.0 odds
Over 1.0 Goal Line at 6.0 odds

If you took Bet 1, and a goal is scored, you win at odds of 2.0.

However, if you took Bet 2 and your team takes a goal lead, at worst, your stake refunds as you have matched the Asian Line. If 2 or more goals are scored, you bet wins at odds of 6.0.

Also, with Bet 2, if a goal is scored quickly, the cash-out value may be more than the Bet 1 odds would have given you.

Split Asian Goal Lines

Some bookmakers offer Split Asian Lines. (Our favourite for this is Betfair).

This means that if you placed a £10 bet on the above example, your stake is split into two parts. £5 on Over 1.0 Goal line and £5 on Over 1.5 Goal line.

If 1 goal is scored, you will be refunded £5
If 2 goals are scored, you win both bets.

Split Asian Goal Lines are a great way of getting more significant returns for less risk.

Asian Handicap Corners

Corner line bets are like Goal Line bets. If it's a whole number Asian corner bet, you get a refund of your stake if the number of corners is the same as the line you took. I.e. You bet on 9 Asian Corners, and the game finishes with exactly 9 corners.

If more than 9 corners are conceded, you win. We love a bet on corners and corner markets are very profitable once you understand them.

Let's look at another example:

It's 30mins into the first half of a game, and there have only been 2 corners so far.

As you are obviously signed up to our First Half Alert Channel, you get notified that it's worth looking at first-half corners in this game.

You open the betting app, and the line you are offered is Over 4.0 First Half Asian Corners at odds of evens. You have a couple of choices:

You can take the bet knowing that if 2 more corners are conceded your money is safe as the game will have 4 corners at Half-time. If 3 corners are conceded, you win.
You wait for the line to change as the first half progresses hoping that if there are more corners, they will be late in the half.

If you take option 2, as the clock ticks down the line will eventually change to a half number Asian: Over 3.5 First Half Asian Corners.

Now you only need 2 corners to win. However, this is riskier as the refund element of the bet is removed from the equation.

What Does Asian Handicap Mean?

Asian Handicap Betting is by far the most confusing of the three Asian Betting systems.

The easiest way to understand the Asian Handicap market is to imagine that at the time you place your bet, the game is 0-0, even if the actual score is 5-4.

Three different handicaps can be placed:

A full goal handicap, such as -0, -1, -2
A half goal handicap such as -0.5, -1.5
A quarter goal handicap such as -0.25, -0.75, -1.25

Whichever of these you choose will determine how you calculate your return. Let's take a look at each one.

Full Goal Handicap

Examples of a full goal handicap would be a -1 or +1 goal start to a team.

When you bet -1 goal on a team, there are three possible outcomes:

If they win by 1 goal, i.e. 1-0 or 2-1 final score, your stake will be returned.
If the team wins by 2 or more goals you win
If the team draws, you lose.

Half Goal Handicap

Examples of a full goal handicap would be -0.5 or +0.5 goal start for a team.

When you bet -0.5 goal on a team, there are only two possible outcomes:

If the team wins by 1 or more goals you win
If the team draws or loses, you lose your bet.

Quarter Goal Handicap

Quarter lines look more complicated, but they’re not. For a quarter goal handicap, i.e. -0.75 or +0.75 goals, there are four possible outcomes:

If the team wins by 1 or more goals you win
If the team draws or loses, you lose your bet.
You have a half win (see below)
You have a half loss (see below)

The last two outcomes work in a similar way to the split Asian Goal line. The stake is divided evenly between two bet lines. Ie. A £10 stake on a -0.75 Handicap would be; £5 on a -1 handicap and £5 on a -0.5 handicap.

Check the table at the end of this article to see how a particular bet line would win or lose.

How To Win With Asian Handicap Betting?

So, now you’re wondering how to take everything you’ve learned and start to win using Asian Handicap Betting. Which team should you back? Should you take a positive or negative Asian Handicap?

Here are three betting guides to help you win more bets with less risk:

The Pre-match Favourite:

If the pre-match favourite team is losing, or you think they will score at least one more goal than the opposition, look for a negative handicap (-0.5 or -1.0). If they score for fun, and winning the game in style is the likely outcome, perhaps take a higher goal line.

Evenly Matched Teams:

These bets are great for teams that rarely concede (thanks to Jose), or if you think a team can hold out without conceding, look to place a zero handicap (0.0 Handicap – this is the same as a Draw No Bet) or perhaps a slightly more Positive Asian Handicap such as +0.5.

The Underdog:

If you feel the weaker team might only concede a single goal, try a positive handicap over +1, such as +1.5 or +2.0. This gives the underdog a head start.