Rather than betting on the odds of a weak favourite in an unbalanced match, consider betting with handicaps. They’ll pay you more money… provided you know how to beat their traps.
Definition Of Handicap Betting
This strategy consists of betting on the outcome of the matches by inflicting a points handicap on the favourite of the match: this amounts to estimating the points gap between the two teams.
This results in higher odds than a simple bet. By taking such a bet, one admits that the name of the winner is almost certain, so one decides to focus instead on the gap with which he will win. By giving or taking away goals or points to one of the teams, the odds are therefore artificially rebalanced.
But beware, higher odds are synonymous with greater gains but also logically with greater chances of losing. It is obvious that it is easier to predict dry results than results with a handicap. This aspect must remain in the mind of the bettor.
Note that it is also possible to play a livebet with a handicap.
Examples Of Sports Betting With Handicap
For Football Matches
In simple terms, disability is seen as simply giving “goals ahead” to the opponent.
The draw is replaced by a victory of Real by 2 goals (that’s why we can consider that Schalke 04 starts the game 2 goals ahead).
Any other result requires betting on Schalke to win.
Handicap Betting In Basketball
The sport on which this kind of bet is most frequently used remains basketball: in fact, in this sport with a very large number of points, surprises are rarer than in football. In fact, while it is possible in football to carry out a “hold-up” by defending fiercely, in basketball this technique is more delicate, because even with a good defence it is impossible to keep your opponent at 0 points.
Moreover, the lack of equality in basketball also makes this type of bet much more legible than in football.
In tennis, does it exist?
With legal French operators, such as PMU, Betclic or Unibet for example, you cannot bet on tennis with a handicap. However, this does not mean that this type of betting does not exist; you can simply play it only abroad.
The principle is similar to that of the sports mentioned above, and nothing better than a specific example to understand how it works. Let’s say that in the first round of the US Open, we see a confrontation between Novak Djokovic and Nicolas Mahut: the Serbian player will obviously be the favourite, and in the case of a classic bet where you just have to pick the winner, his odds will be very low.
With a handicap, we could see something like that:
- Djokovic – 7.5
- Mahut + 7.5
The figure corresponds to the difference in games scored over the whole match: as it is considered less strong, Mahut benefits from a virtual bonus. Thus, if he loses 4-6 3-6 4-6, he scores 7 games less than his opponent. As in our example, his bonus is 7.5 games, he is still the winner of the bet. On the other hand, if he loses 2-6 1-6 1-6, Djokovic’s hancicap is not enough and therefore the Serb must be bet on to pocket his winnings.
As in football or basketball, this allows the odds to be adjusted in case of an unbalanced match on paper.
Where to place your handicap bets?
The main legal bookmakers now allow you to place this type of bet: Paries Sport, Betclic, PMU, Unibet… All the bookmakers in the comparison allow you to take bets with a handicap.
PMU differs from other operators by presenting only one possible choice in the “spread between teams” section, the other options being placed in the “winner’s spread” category. This methodological bias is a good idea, it offers much more clarity than in the case of competitors.
Indeed, at Unibet or Betclic, the category dedicated to handicap betting is a little too “cluttered” and, due to lack of space, unclear shortcuts are used.
The Case Of Sports Betting
Bets with a handicap are available in the Match of the Day bulletins of Pariament Sport: however, this option is not possible for the Loto Foot or 1/N/2 grids.
The principle is simple: you will find on your bulletin odds similar to those shown in the example below:
For the classic 1/N/2, Ajax is a clear favourite: on the other hand, if it is given a handicap of 1 goal, the odds are balanced.
Let’s study the 3 cases of the 1/N/2 handicap:
- The 1 corresponds to a victory of Ajax of Amsterdam by at least 2 goals of difference
- The N corresponds to an Ajax victory of exactly 1 goal (1-0, 2-1…).
- The 2 represents all other cases, i.e. a draw or a win for AZ Alkmaar.
