{"id":16,"date":"2023-08-30T05:49:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T05:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/?p=16"},"modified":"2023-08-30T06:26:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T06:26:31","slug":"how-handicap-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/how-handicap-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveling the Playing Field: How Handicap Betting Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">Handicap betting has become a hugely popular form of sports wagering that makes matches more competitive and betting more exciting. But what exactly does it mean to handicap a game? Let&#8217;s break it down in simple terms.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-handicap-betting\">What is Handicap Betting?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">The basic idea behind handicap betting is to give the team or player perceived as weaker an advantage to make up for the difference in strength or ability between competitors. This advantage is called the handicap. It&#8217;s a way of evening the playing field and making a contest between mismatched rivals more balanced in terms of betting.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">For example, if Manchester City is expected to beat Aston Villa by 2 goals based on factors like current form and injuries, the bookmaker might give Aston Villa a +2 goal handicap. This means before the real match even starts, Aston Villa already has 2 goals added to their scoreline. So if the final score is Manchester City 3 &#8211; Aston Villa 2, Villa has not managed to cover the 2 goal handicap, and bets placed on them do not win.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">Handicapping makes betting on seemingly lopsided games worthwhile. It also eliminates the possibility of boring low-scoring draws being wagered on. Most importantly, appropriate handicaps applied to the underdog mean their odds and payout potential are significantly better.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-opt-for-handicap-betting\">Why Opt for Handicap Betting?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">There are several strategic advantages and reasons why handicap betting has become so popular for sports wagering enthusiasts:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul style=\"\" class=\"wp-block-list \">\n<li>Makes betting on clear underdogs viable and rewarding. Taking the weaker team with a handicap applied can result in some very lucrative payouts if they can cover the spread.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More low-scoring sports like soccer benefit from goal handicaps. A 0-0 draw in football is boring for bettors, but a handicap makes it interesting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fractional handicaps remove the possibility of a dull draw outcome. With Asian handicaps using fractions, a draw or &#8220;push&#8221; isn&#8217;t possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provides bettors the potential for much higher payouts on successful wagers. Taking a big underdog with a large handicap means a solid return if they can cover.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adds more variety and excitement by making contests unpredictable. Handicapping takes boring blowout matchups and makes them nail-biting contests down to the final whistle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allows you to bet on many more games and leagues. Makes even the biggest mismatches worth wagering on with the right handicap.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gives losing teams a fighting chance to cover the spread. This makes otherwise mundane games exciting when betting the handicap.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lets you double down on your favorite team at better odds. If they have a big handicap, you can take them and get a better return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading wp-block-heading\" id=\"handicapping-across-different-sports\">Handicapping Across Different Sports<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">The main variants of handicaps used across different sports leagues include:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul style=\"\" class=\"wp-block-list \">\n<li>\n<strong>Whole handicap<\/strong> &#8211; The simplest format. A whole number advantage like +2 or -4 goals in football.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Asian handicap<\/strong> &#8211; Uses fractions like +1.25 to eliminate push or draw outcomes for a definitive win\/loss result. Popular in Asian sportsbooks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Half or split handicap <\/strong>&#8211; The whole number spread is divided into halves or &#8220;splits&#8221; like +\/- 1.5 goals in a football match.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Quarter handicap<\/strong> &#8211; A further fractioning of the spread into quarters like +\/- 0.75 to give an even finer advantage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Frame handicap<\/strong> &#8211; Used in racquet sports like table tennis and badminton where points are counted as frames.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Set handicap<\/strong> &#8211; For tennis matches where the advantage is given in sets rather than points or games.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Time handicap<\/strong> &#8211; Common in auto-racing, where the slower vehicle gets a head start on the track over the faster car.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Weight handicap<\/strong> &#8211; In horse racing, better horses have to carry extra weight to even out the field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\n<strong>Runs handicap <\/strong>&#8211; In cricket, runs are added to the weaker team&#8217;s first innings total as their handicap.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">In short, there are many ways to handicap the advantage based on the specific sport and how scoring is counted. This variety is what makes handicap betting so interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph \">At its core, handicap betting is about making sports wagering more exciting by balancing out mismatches between opponents. While there are small nuances depending on the exact handicaps set by bookmakers, the concept allows bettors to back underdogs with a fighting chance. Handicapping adds strategic depth, unpredictability, and profit potential to any sporting contest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Handicap betting has become a hugely popular form of sports wagering that makes matches more competitive and betting more exciting. But what exactly does it mean to handicap a game? Let&#8217;s break it down in simple terms. What is Handicap Betting? The basic idea behind handicap betting is to give the team or player perceived &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njlida.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}