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Handicap -1.5/+1.5 in sports betting
An incredibly popular way to bet on sports, the Handicap market can provide better value than other types of bet. Essentially, a Handicap is designed to even the odds between two teams or players. It can be especially useful when one team or player is the clear favourite to win the event.
-1.5/+1.5 is an example of an Asian Handicap bet. The half numbers take away the possibility of betting on just the draw. If it is a draw then the +1.5 bet will win. The Asian Handicap market also uses quarter numbers, we’ll take a look at what this means in this guide.
In addition, we’ll explore the sports and events the Handicap market can be useful for. We’ll use a few different examples to illustrate how the Handicap market can be beneficial for your betting, with a particular focus on the -1.5/+1.5 market.
What is Handicap Betting in Sport?
Before we look at the -1.5/+1.5 handicap in detail, let’s examine what Handicap betting is. A Handicap bet will give a team or player a hypothetical advantage, or disadvantage, to even up the chances of betting success and often provide greater betting value than bets such as Match Winner.
As we’ve touched upon, the Handicap market can provide greater betting value than other markets, particularly true when there is a huge difference in odds between two players or sides. For this example, we’ll compare football Match Winner odds and Asian Handicap odds on a fixture where one side is heavy favourites to win.
Arsenal are playing Fulham at home in the UK Premier League. The odds on Arsenal to win are generally about 1.45, Fulham to win is priced at 9 and the draw is at 4.5.
We want to bet on the home win, but odds of 1.45 don’t represent much value. Instead, to boost those odds whilst still betting on Arsenal to win we can look at the Asian Handicap market. As we think this will be a comfortable win for Arsenal, we might look at the Arsenal -1.5 handicap market, which gives us much better odds of about 2.25. But why is that?
As far as handicap betting is concerned the amount of the handicap and the sport that is used can vary beyond football and low numbers. Let’s use a different sport for our next example. Detroit Pistons are at San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. The Money Line odds on the Pistons victory are set at 1.22, with San Antonio at 4.50. If we believe that Detroit Pistons will win quite comfortably, we again can look to the Asian Handicap market.
Pistons -13.5 gives them a 13.5 points disadvantage. So, for this bet to win, we’d need them to win by 14 points or more. Similarly, we could give San Antonio Spurs a head start of 13.5 points. So, as long as they don’t lose by more than 14 points, this bet would win.
What does Asian Handicap -1.5/+1.5 mean?
Let’s return to the -1.5/+1.5 market. This market is generally used for low-scoring sports. For instance, you are unlikely to find it on a basketball game or a rugby match, and even if you did it would be an extremely risky bet as there’s very little room for manoeuvre.
Instead, you’ll find this market on sports such as football and ice hockey. It can also be found in other sports, like tennis, especially in Set Betting.
We’ll continue our Arsenal vs Fulham example to illustrate the -1.5/+1.5 market.
As we’ve suggested, the odds on the home win don’t particularly attract us and don’t offer much value. Can we find more value in the -1.5/+1.5 market? Let’s see.
| - | Fulham Win | Arsenal Win |
|---|---|---|
| Match Odds | 9 | 1.45 |
| 1.5 Handicap Market | 1.65 | 2.25 |
As the table above details, if we give Arsenal a 1.5 goal disadvantage, the odds increase to 2.25, compared to the standard Match Winner odds of 1.45. For our bet to win, we’d need Arsenal to win by two or more goals.
On the other side giving Fulham a 1.5 goal advantage means that the odds drop significantly compared to the Match Winner market. But that is because this bet is now easier to win, Fulham can draw or even lose by one goal and the bet still wins!
What sports is the Asian Handicap useful for?
Asian Handicap betting is available on a wide range of sports. There’s also variations of this market, too. For example, in football you can find markets like Half-Time Handicap, Asian Total Goals and Asian First Half Total Goals.
We’ve analysed the -1.5/+1.5 market for this guide, which generally is available on low-scoring sports. However, as we’ve seen, there are higher handicaps available on high-scoring sports and events.
The Asian Handicap market is slightly more complicated to understand than a European Handicap bet. It’s important you work out the value of your Handicap bet to assess its probability of being successful.
Asian Handicap Calculator -1.5
Asian Handicap Calculator +1.5
Where to bet on Asian Handicap -1.5/+1.5?
You can find the Asian Handicap -1.5/+1.5 market at a wide variety of online bookmakers. When you’re looking for a new betting site, make sure this market is available on the events you want to bet on.
There are other aspects to consider, too. The best sites tend to offer a fantastic all-round user experience, live betting options, mobile play and promotions for both new and existing customers.
Talking of promotions, our top betting sites for -1.5/+1.5 betting are listed in the table below, along with our results of the odds they offer on 1.5 handicap bets, and the details of their current new customer offers.
| Betting Site | Fulham +1.5 | Arsenal -1.5 | Margin | Welcome Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1.69 | 2.32 | 2.3% | 100% Deposit Match |
 | 1.68 | 2.32 | 2.6% | 100% Deposit Match |
 | 1.65 | 2.3 | 4.1% | 100% Deposit Match |
 | 1.64 | 2.26 | 5.2% | 100% Deposit Match |
 | 1.57 | 2.25 | 8.1% | 100% Deposit Match |
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There are a couple of major differences between the two markets. The European Handicaps are only ever whole numbers, and you can bet on the game finishing with exactly that handicap difference so you can still bet on a draw. Asian Handicaps can be whole numbers but more commonly include fractions, so the +ve handicap will win if it is a draw or that team.
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The Asian Handicap market is available on a plethora of sports. For the specific market we’ve examined in this guide, the -1.5/+1.5 market, this is typically available on low scoring sports, such as football.
