Learn Everything About Handicap 0 Meaning In Sports Betting!

If you are new to betting, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by all the information. While bets on outcomes or totals are straightforward, things can get trickier when handicaps are involved. The meaning of handicap in betting is essentially an attempt to level the playing field by predicting the score difference in a game. It’s used to give an advantage or disadvantage to one of the teams, making the betting more balanced. For example, if a strong team is heavily favored, a handicap might “subtract” a few goals from their final score for betting purposes. One common variant you might encounter is the “zero handicap”, which simply means no advantage or disadvantage is applied—essentially a bet on which team will win outright.
You should by no means ignore zero handicaps. They are quite popular bets, as they allow you to protect yourself to some extent and receive your money back if a match ends in a draw. In a zero handicap there are only two betting options possible - H1(0) and H2(0). So, it is not going to be difficult to understand it.
The advantage of a zero handicap is that if a specific team wins no matter the score, it is a winning bet, while if the match ends in a draw, then the money is returned to the bettor - unlike regular handicaps which are lost when a match ends in a draw. Consider that you bet on a zero handicap on Juventus in the Italian Championship match with Milan. There are three possible scenarios in this case:
- Juventus wins (no matter the score) and you get your winnings based on the odds;
- The match ends in a draw and the bookmaker returns to you the amount you bet;
- Juventus loses and your bet is lost.
The disadvantage of a zero handicap, on the other hand, is that it is generally offered at lower odds than regular bets on the victory of a team. However, fans of betting justifiably name zero handicap ‘insurance’, because a zero handicap allows you to at least have your money returned to you in case of a draw.
A zero handicap bet can be placed on one or the other team. So, when the opponents of a game are equivalent and pretty much at the same level, meaning that it is quite difficult to unambiguously predict the winner, then a zero handicap gives you the chance to play it safe and protect yourself. In this case it is worth looking at the statistics to find implicit advantages of teams and then bet with zero handicap. You will have yourself at least protected in case everything goes not as predicted. If there is a clear favorite in a match, then a zero handicap is not a wise option as it will offer rather low odds.
Let’s see an example. In the Italian Championship game between Inter and Milan, a fan believes that Inter has better chances to win and so he places a bet on “F1(0)” - a zero handicap on Inter. The match ends in a 3-3 draw, and as there is no winner, the bettor receives his money back.
In basketball, the handicap meaning in basketball refers to a point spread applied to even out the odds between two teams of differing strengths. The stronger team is “handicapped” by having points subtracted from their final score, while the weaker team may receive additional points. This allows bets to be more balanced and competitive, giving bettors a fair chance to wager on either side. For example, if Team A is favored by 8 points, they must win by more than 8 points for a handicap bet on them to succeed. Similarly, a bet on Team B would win if they either win outright or lose by fewer than 8 points. Handicaps make betting more interesting by focusing not just on who wins, but by how much.