Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini, FIFA, UEFA Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi… Do any of these names ring any bells for you? If they do, then you certainly want to read the explanation about soccer betting handicap betting that we have prepared for you below:
Handicap Soccer Betting Explained
Like most sports, different soccer teams across the world have varying degrees of talent, financial strengths, home vs. away advantage, and coaching staff, which often play a huge role in determining winners of various soccer games or tournaments.
Fortunately, the world of soccer betting is a level playing field where any bettor or team can emerge victorious, as Oddsmakers offer what is known as handicap soccer betting. In this type of soccer betting, the bookmakers assign a hypothetical goal bias that is used as an indicator of the advantage a favored team has over an underdog.
For example, in a game between Brazil and Ecuador in the Copa America Tournament, Brazil can be favored to win by 3-goals-to-1 over Ecuador because of their perceived superiority. Unlike the traditional 1X2 bet, soccer handicap betting eliminates any perceived difference in abilities in teams, using superiority in goals to determine winners and losers. Through the goal superiority module of this betting strategy, the possibility of losing if a game ends in a draw after 90 minutes is eliminated.
Types of Handicap Soccer Betting
There may be different variations of handicap soccer betting used by Sportsbooks across the world, but in the world of online soccer betting, there are usually three types of handicap soccer bets, as is briefly highlighted below:
Level Handicap
In this type of handicap betting, there is no perceived difference in the strengths and weaknesses between the two teams playing each other, so no bias is assigned to both teams. Both teams, therefore, start off at a level playing field of zero (0). For a bettor to win here, he needs to figure out (and bet on) the team that is likely to score more goals than its opponent. In the event of a tie result where both teams score the same number of goals, the bets are refunded.
Single Handicap
In a single handicap, there is a perceived superiority by one team over the other, hence a befitting bias is assigned by the Oddsmakers. Using the Brazil vs. Ecuador game example, Brazil’s perceived superiority means that a goal handicap will be assigned to reflect their advantage. Like in most cases of Sportsbetting, a minus (-) value is assigned to reflect the status of the favored team, so Brazil may be handicapped as a -0.5 goal, -1 goal, -1.5 goals, or -2 goals favorite. For Brazil bettors to win a bet here, let’s say in the -2 goals handicap, then Brazil will need to win the game by more than 2 goals. If the Brazilians win by exactly 2 goals, the result with the handicap applied is a draw, meaning your bet will be refunded. But if Brazil does scores just 1 goal or Ecuador wins by any number of goals, then the Ecuador fans will get paid as the winners at a +2 goals handicap.
Split Handicap
In the split handicap, there are small perceived differences on both teams, allowing bettors to split their stakes over the two handicaps. Still using the Brazil vs. Ecuador example, Brazil may be offered at (0 and -0.5). In such a case, if you bet on Brazil and they lose, then you will lose both bets since neither of the handicaps has been covered. However, if the game ends in a tie result, your stake at (0) will be refunded, while the other half at (-0.5) will be lost. Conversely, if Ecuador (0 and +5) wins the game, then both handicaps will be covered for Ecuador bettors, meaning they’ll get paid on both wins.
Final Remarks
Evidently, all the three types of handicap soccer betting come with their unique advantages. But as bottom line for soccer bettors, the goal superiority module of placing biases and the refunds bettors get in instances of draws ensures that there is less risk and more reward opportunities in handicap soccer betting, making it a worthwhile betting strategy to consider in your soccer betting endeavors.
