What is European Handicap Table? Explained for Pakistani Players

The world of betting has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. It constitutes a lot of bet types, with the European Handicap being amongst the ones that stand out.

This type of bet is similar to the Asian Handicap but with a few significant differences. The European Handicap is a 3-way bet type that evens out the odds difference between two teams.

The European Handicap Table comes in the form of an integer subtracted or added to the favourite or underdog team, respectively. Here, what matters the most is the goal difference placed by the bookmaker. The main objective of this bet type is to increase the odds in the European Handicap table.

European Handicap Structure

Most online bookmakers feature tons of games and several bet types. Each of them come in unique forms so that bettors can identify them on sight.

The European Handicap bet appears as Team A (-integer) – Draw (-integer) – Team B (+integer).

The implication of the ‘-’ sign behind the integers is that the game starts with the integer being the number of goals the favourite team is trailing by. On the other hand, the underdog gets the + sign, which indicates that as long as they lose by a goal difference less than the stipulated integer, the bet is won. The underdog also wins if the game ends in a draw or if they win outrightly.

Apart from increasing the odds for staking on the favourite, European Handicap rules also create balance by reducing the odds for the underdog.

While bettors can learn how to read these bets, the European Handicap table makes it easy to see the potential outcome of your bet based on the match result. Here is a table with some of the most common EH values for the home or away team.

A draw is a possible outcome with European Handicap, and the draw bet wins if the teams win and lose by the indicated whole number integer. Here’s a table overview:

Example of European Handicap

Let’s head to the German Bundesliga for an outmatched fixture. For instance, a match between the most successful side in the league history and a smaller team like Fortuna Dusseldorf. Because of the extremely high tendency of Bayern Munich to win, the odds for a straight win would be highly insignificant. It could be in the range of 1.00 – 1.05. These odds are too small to get any attention. So the bookmaker is better off leaving out the option. This is where the European Handicap bet comes into play.

For instance, if you place EH – 3 in favour of Bayern, the team would have to defeat the opponent by at least 3 goals to win. If the goal difference is 3, the handicap equalises the outcome into a draw. 

Difference between Asian and European Handicap

In simple terms, the European Handicap bet is structured in 3 ways while the Asian Handicap is in 2 ways. For Asian Handicap, in the event of a draw, the stake is refunded as the bet is considered a push. On the other hand, with a European counterpart, a bettor can still lose the bet in the event of a draw. Here, the draw bet is a separate outcome.. 

Indices to look out for when going for European Handicap Betting

• Recent form
• Both club’s history
• Home/Away match records

When to opt for European Handicap

• When there is a huge difference in quality between the two teams. 
• When the favourite team has a strong offensive force and high scoring record 
• When the underdog team has a poor record of keeping clean sheets. 
• When a favourite team is just coming from a shocking defeat and looking forward to kicking back.

In backing the lesser team, look out for matches where the favourite is facing a major source of demoralisation. For instance, when some of their key players are injured or suspended, or if there’s a problem between the coach and the players. 

Conclusion

European Handicap is a very popular and highly rewarding bet type. It is also common and attractive because of the ‘draw’ result that it includes. This betting strategy is more reliable when the fixture is between two opponents of different qualities. This way, there is a high chance of avoiding accidental draw.