Asian handicap calculator for every line

Asian handicap explained in plain words

The head start works like this. The stronger team starts with a minus, for example −1. The weaker team starts with a plus, for example +1.

How do you check your bet after the match? Add the line to your team's goals and compare the new score.

You bet on a team at −1, and it wins 2-0. Take one goal away: 1-0. Your bet wins. If it wins only 1-0, the new score is 0-0. In that case you get your stake back.

There is no draw to bet on, only two sides. For each match the bookmaker has one main line, where both sides have about the same chance. On that line the odds on each side are close to 2.00. The bookmaker also offers other lines, and on them either team can get a minus. Their odds move far from 2.00: in the match further down, Ipswich at −1.5 is priced from 5.80 to 6.80.

How to use the calculator

This Asian handicap betting calculator (AH calculator for short) has two tabs. Use Handicap for a bet on a team, with a line like −0.75. Use Totals for a bet on the number of goals, with a line like 2.75.

Fill in four fields:

1. The line. Copy it from your bet slip, exactly as it is written next to your team. The − and + buttons change it by a quarter of a goal.
2. The odds. The calculator uses decimal odds, like 1.95. Hong Kong and American odds are under “More options”.
3. The stake. Any currency works.
4. The final score. This one is optional. Your team's goals go first.

Under the answer you see “Every possible result”. It shows which results win, which give your money back and which lose. You do not need a score for this list.

Odds comparison sites often show the line for the home team only. Did you bet on the away team? Then change the sign. Home −0.75 and away +0.75 are two sides of the same market.

Whole lines: win, refund or loss

Whole lines are 0, −1, +1, −2 and so on. With these lines the new score can be level. Then the bet is a “push”, and the whole stake comes back.

Here is −1 at odds of 1.95 with a stake of 100:

• Your team wins by 2 or more: you get back 195.
• Your team wins by exactly 1: you get back 100.
• A draw or a defeat: you get back nothing.

Line 0 is the easiest. A win pays in full and a draw gives your stake back. Many bookmakers sell this same bet as “draw no bet”.

Half lines: win or lose

Half lines end in .5, like −0.5, +0.5 and −1.5. A team cannot score half a goal, so the new score is never level. Your bet wins or loses. Nothing comes back.

−0.5 wins only if your team wins. +0.5 also wins on a draw. And +1.5 still wins if your team loses by one goal.

Quarter lines split your stake

Quarter lines end in .25 or .75, like −0.25, −0.75, +0.25 and +1.25. On these lines the bookmaker cuts your stake into two equal bets on the two nearest lines.

Each half is settled on its own. So one half can win while the other comes back. Or one half can lose while the other comes back.

Some sites never write −0.75. They show the two lines instead, like "−0.5, −1" or "−0.5/−1". Some Asian bookmakers write −0.25 as 0/0.5, a “half-ball” line, and −0.75 as 0.5/1. It is the same bet every time, and you can type any of these forms into the calculator.

Half win and half loss in money

What does a half win pay? One half of your stake wins at the full odds. The other half comes back to you.

A half loss works the other way. One half is lost and the other half comes back.

Say you bet 100 on −0.75 at 1.95, and your team wins 1-0. The −0.5 half wins: 50 × 1.95 = 97.50. The −1 half ends level, so its 50 comes back. You get 147.50 in total, a profit of 47.50.

Now you bet 100 on −0.25 at 1.90, and the match ends 1-1. The 0 half comes back as 50, and the −0.5 half loses. You get back 50. That is a loss of 50, not 100.

On the plus side, bet 100 on +0.25 at 1.85, and a draw gives you 50 × 1.85 + 50 = 142.50.

A half win is not half of a full win. One half of your stake pays at full odds, and the other half only comes back.

Asian handicap table for every line

This table shows how each line from −2 to +1.5 ends for every result. Read it from your team's point of view.

The table shows the result, not the money. For the exact amount, enter your odds and stake in the calculator above.

Bigger lines from −1.25 to −2

Bigger lines follow the same rule, and your team simply needs more goals.

−1.25 at 2.20, stake 100:

• Win by 2 or more: 220 back.
• Win by exactly 1: half loss, 50 back.
• A draw or a defeat: nothing back.

−1.75 at 2.10, stake 100:

• Win by 3 or more: 210 back.
• Win by exactly 2: half win, 155 back.
• Anything less: nothing back.

Big lines appear when a strong team plays a much weaker one. A plain win by the favorite pays very little, and a big line lifts the price back to about 2.00. One late goal can change the result of the bet: on −1.75, a 3-0 win is a full win, while 2-0 is only a half win.

Asian totals: over 2.25 and 2.75

Asian totals use the same rule. The only difference: you count all the goals in the match, not the gap between the teams. Switch the calculator to the Totals tab, choose Over or Under and enter the line.

Over 2.75 at 1.95, stake 100:

• 4 goals or more: 195 back.
• Exactly 3 goals: half win, 147.50 back.
• 2 goals or fewer: nothing back.

With Over 2.25 at 1.85, exactly 2 goals is a half loss, and you get back 50. Three goals or more win the whole bet: 185.

Under bets work the other way round: Under 2.25 with exactly 2 goals gives a half win. At odds of 1.85 and a stake of 100, you get back 142.50.

Asian handicap, 1X2 and draw no bet

Some Asian lines are the same bets you know from other markets:

• −0.5 wins only if your team wins. That is a “1” or a “2” in the 1X2 market.
• 0 gives your stake back on a draw. That is draw no bet.
• +0.5 wins on a win or a draw. That is double chance.

The result is the same, but the price is not always the same. Check both markets and take the higher odds.

Quarter lines have no twin in 1X2. They sit between two of the bets above: −0.25 is half “win” and half “draw no bet”.

Same line, different prices

Every bookmaker sets its own odds for the same line. On BetExplorer we checked one match, Ipswich against Nottingham. The −1.5 line for Ipswich was priced by six bookmakers and Betfair Exchange:

A stake of 100 on Ipswich −1.5 would return 680 at Rainbet and only 580 at Bets.io. The bet and the match are the same, but the difference is 100.

1xBet and Megapari show the very same prices, to the last digit. Betfair Exchange is a betting exchange, where players bet against each other. On this line its prices were the highest on both sides, but it takes a commission from your winnings.

Look at the prices next to each other, too. They should change step by step from line to line. At Betfair Exchange, Ipswich was 18.70 at −2, 19.55 at −2, −2.5 and 20.40 at −2.5. At Bets.io, Ipswich was 10.50 at −2 and then 12.00 at both −2, −2.5 and −2.5. When two neighboring lines have one price, one of them is probably out of date.

On a stake of 100, the same −1.5 line on the same match would return 680 at one bookmaker and 580 at another.

How to open the Asian handicap tab for any match is shown in our BetExplorer review. OddsPortal is a second free site with the same kind of table.

The bookmaker margin on a handicap

A bookmaker earns money through its margin. It is the small extra built into the odds on both sides.

You can find it with one sum. Divide 1 by each of the two odds and add the results. Anything above 1 is the margin.

Two sides at 1.95: 1 ÷ 1.95 + 1 ÷ 1.95 = 1.0256. The margin is 2.56%. Without a margin, both sides would pay 2.00.

On the −1.5 line from the table above, the margin was very different:

• bet365: 4.9%.
• Rainbet: 5.6%.
• Unibet: 6.8%.
• Bets.io: 7.3%.
• 1xBet and Megapari: 8.8%.
• Betfair Exchange: 2.1%, plus its commission.

A smaller margin means more money back for you over many bets. But a low margin does not always mean the best price on your side. Rainbet had the best odds on Ipswich among the bookmakers, while bet365 had the lowest margin and the best odds on Nottingham.

In the calculator, open “More options” and enter the odds on the other side. It shows the margin and the fair odds for both sides. Our odds converter explains fair odds step by step.

On one and the same −1.5 line, the margin ran from 4.9% at bet365 to 8.8% at 1xBet and Megapari.

A safer line pays less

A line that gives money back on a draw has lower odds than a line that loses on a draw.

Here is an example with made-up chances. Say a team has a 50% chance to win, 26% to draw and 24% to lose. With no margin at all, the fair odds would be:

In this example, each step toward safety cuts the odds by about 0.26. If draws are more likely, the cut is bigger.

So which line should you take? Do you think a draw is unlikely? Then −0.5 pays more for the same pick. Do you expect a draw often? Then the refund on 0 may be worth the lower price.

For the size of the stake, use our Kelly criterion calculator. It works with Asian handicap odds too.

Live bets count goals differently

The calculator checks a bet against the final score. Live bets can work another way.

Bookmakers settle a live Asian handicap in one of two ways. Some count only the goals scored after you place the bet, so for you the score starts at 0-0. Others use the score of the whole match. Which one does your bookmaker use? Its rules page says so.

The bet slip helps, too. On Betwinner we added a live bet to the slip in a New Zealand league match at 0-1. The slip shows the score next to the teams, [0:1], and the line as “Handicap: 2 (−2.5)”. Team 2 is the away team, so this is the away team at −2.5.

The prices in that market give a second hint. Line 0 for the away team was priced at 1.03, and line 0 for the home team at 10. These prices make sense only if the goal already scored counts. So this market uses the score of the whole match: the away team at −2.5 must finish at least 3 goals ahead, which means two more goals than the home team from now on.

Before you use the calculator for a live bet, check which way your bookmaker counts. If it starts from 0-0, enter only the goals scored after your bet. If it uses the whole match, enter the final score as usual.

Asian handicap lines also appear in surebets, because two bookmakers can price one line very differently. Our surebet calculator splits the stake for that case. Every tool we have built is on the betting calculators page.