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European Handicap betting in Basketball
What is European handicap betting?
Firstly, before discussing how the European Handicap market can be used when betting on Basketball, we shall briefly define the European handicap market.
The European Handicap market allows you to bet on a team with a set amount of points either added or deducted to their final score. There are two sides to the market the + side, which means you are adding points to the team’s final score or the – side of the market, which takes points off their final total. At the end of the game, the handicap is applied to the final result, and your bet wins or loses depending on the final score after the handicap has been taken into account.
Why use the European handicap market?
Like all handicap markets, the European handicap market exists to balance the odds on a game by either giving the favourite a disadvantage or the outsider an advantage. This then means you can bet on the favourite to overcome the handicap with more favourable odds or bet on an outsider at shorter odds
How does European Handicap work in Basketball?
The European Handicap deducts several points from the team the Sportsbook considers to be the favourite for the match. Or adds several points to the team that is considered to be the outsiders. These points are added or deducted at the end of the game, and the final score after the handicap has been applied is then the final score used to determine the outcome of your bet. Bear in mind that it’s not only possible to win or lose, but it’s possible that after the handicap has been applied, the game ends in a draw. If the result after the handicap has been applied is a draw, your bet will also lose.
In a game between the LA Clippers and the Denver Nuggets The LA Clippers are 1.4 favourites, the Nuggets are 3.52 outsiders and a draw is 17.0.
So in this game the handicap would be applied to the Clippers or the head start would be given to the Nuggets. This can change the odds considerably depending on the size of the handicap.
The market can be displayed in different ways, below is a typical example. You can see how the odds change depending on whether the teams are given a 6 7 or 8 point handicap/headstart.
| Points deducted from the Clippers | Odds | Draw | Odds | Points added to the Nuggets | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:8 W1 | 2.25 | 0:8 X | 12.2 | 0:8 W2 | 1.73 |
| 0:7 W1 | 2.07 | 0:7 X | 11 | 0:7 W2 | 1.83 |
| 0:6 W1 | 2.02 | 0:6 X | 8.9 | 0:6 W2 | 2.03 |
As you can see the odds of the clippers winning has increased and the odds on the nuggets has decreased. The odds of the draw have decreased as there are now two ways the game can end in a draw. So in the top row example your bet on the draw would win if either the final score ended in a draw after either 8 points had been deducted from the Clippers or 8 points had been added to the Nuggets score.
The odds for a -6/+6 handicap are extremely close, which suggests that, according to this bookmaker, the most likely outcome is that the Clippers will win by 6 points. Of course, this is just their opinion.
Where to bet on Basketball in the European Handicap market?
It’s always important to check out different sites to see which ones have the best odds for the market you’re planning on betting on.
Below, we looked at the NBA game between Golden State and Houston.
Golden State are the favourite, and the odds are slightly different at each site when we look at the -4/+4 handicap.
| Bookmaker | Golden State -4 | Draw | Houston +4 | Bookmaker profit margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.78 | 12.5 | 2.22 | 8.62 |
 | 1.781 | 12.5 | 2.224 | 8.79 |
 | 1.792 | 12.5 | 2.25 | 8.25 |
Although they are all very close, the odds are slightly better at Megapari, so they would be your best choice for this market.
When to bet on the European Handicap market.
Well, as we have explained above, the point of the handicap market is to take points off a favourite or add them to an underdog. Simply put, you bet on the market when you believe the sportsbook has got it wrong. Lets say in our example you think that the Clippers are going to run away with the game by 8+ points, so instead of just betting on them to win the game at 1.4 it makes far better sense to bet on one of the handicap options and get odds of over 2.0, which option 6, 7 or 8 depends on how confident you are. Alternatively, If you believe that the nuggets will only lose by a few points, then you don’t want to be betting on them to win at 3.52, you want a buffer and again, how much is entirely up to you.
Conclusion
Using the European handicap market is an excellent choice for bettors wanting to place bets on basketball, especially when the game is considered to have an odds-on favourite. The market balances the odds, allowing you to place a bet on either team and get a decent return on your bet.
