AH is the most popular way of betting in Asia which is mainly used for soccer matches. The main difference from traditional betting is that here we have only two possibilities to win - Favourite and Underdog (Outsider). In some manuals and explanations for AH it is stated that there is no draw option or the draw is eliminated. Actually this is not really true because we can win if the match is draw and of course we can lose on a draw if we bet on the Favourite. There is a third option - to be a draw with the bookie. In that case our bet is a Push (Tie) and our stake is refunded.
The main advantage of this market is that the margin (spread) in the biggest Asian bookmakers is about 1-3% (4-12 spread points). Normal 1x2 betting spreads are about 8-12% (sometimes in local shops they can be 15 - 20%). What does this mean? It means that if all bets on one specific match are proportional the bookie will make winnings equal to ( if the spread is 2%) 2% from all bets. This is the way that they win - no matter what the result of the match.
AH in example:
Every match has a different AH Line (It is possible to have 2 or 3 lines on one single match). One line can be shown in different ways. For example:
| Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | ¼:0 | 1.90 |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.25:0 | 1.90 |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0/0.5:0 | 1.90 |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | ¼ | 1.90 |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.25 | 1.90 |
| Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0/0.5 | 1.90 |
| Home | AH Line | Away | AH Line | H Odd | A Odd |
| Everton | ¼:0 | Liverpool | - ¼:0 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Everton | 0.25:0 | Liverpool | - 0.25:0 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Everton | 0/0.5:0 | Liverpool | - 0/0.5:0 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Everton | ¼ | Liverpool | - ¼ | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Everton | 0.25 | Liverpool | - 0.25 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
| Everton | 0/0.5 | Liverpool | - 0/0.5 | 2.00 | 1.90 |
All lines in the tables are the same as the others.
Home - The home team
Away - Visitor's team
H Odd - The home team odd to bet on
A Odd - The away team odd to bet on
AH Line - The advantage in goals given to the team
In this situation the favourite team is Liverpool. That's why it is in Red. The outsider is Everton. The advantage is a quarter goal added for Everton (1/4, 0.25, 0/0.5, +1/4, +0.25, +0/0.5). This is the same as a quarter goal to be substracted from total goals for Liverpool (The favourite)
So, what if we bet on the underdog or for the favourite:
- If we bet on the underdog (Everton) +1/4 at 2.00:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win with a half of our stake at an odd 2.00 and the other half of the stake will be returned
- Liverpool Win: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on the favourite (Liverpool) -1/4 at 1.90
- Liverpool Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
- Match Draw: We lose with a half of our stake and the other half of the stake will be returned
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
Every possibility will be explained in more detail below.
AH in deep:
In the table below we can see most of the AH Lines which may occur. Of course we cannot cover all but these, but we will cover 99% of the cases:
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 1 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0 | 1.90 |
| 2 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.25 | 1.90 |
| 3 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.5 | 1.90 |
| 4 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.75 | 1.90 |
| 5 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1 | 1.90 |
| 6 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.25 | 1.90 |
| 7 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.5 | 1.90 |
| 8 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.75 | 1.90 |
| 9 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 2 | 1.90 |
| 10 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.25 | 1.90 |
| 11 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.5 | 1.90 |
| 12 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.75 | 1.90 |
| 13 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1 | 1.90 |
| 14 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.25 | 1.90 |
| 15 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.5 | 1.90 |
| 16 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.75 | 1.90 |
| 17 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 2 | 1.90 |
(this is just an example)
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 1 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0 | 1.90 |
In case no.1 you can see a match without a favourite. It means that there is no advantage to one of both teams. That's why there is no team in red.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: The bet is a Push (Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- Liverpool Win: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team) and:
- Liverpool Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
- Match Draw: The bet is a Push (Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 3 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.5 | 1.90 |
In case no.3 an advantege of a half goal (0.5 or ?) will be added to the home team. It is very similar to 1x2 bet Double Chance 1X or European Handicap +1. If we bet on the favourite it is the same as a 1x2 bet on Liverpool on a single.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 2 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.25 | 1.90 |
Case no.2 is a combination between no1. and no.3. We can consider it like ½ bet as no.1 and ½ bet as no.3. In the first case we didn't add any advantage to any team. In the third case we have added a half goal to Everton. So, now we are adding a quarter (0.25, ¼, 0/0.5) goal for Everton.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win with a half of our stake at an odd 2.00 and the other half of the stake will be returned. Why? Because we put half of the stake on the AH Line 0 and as we said - on a draw the bet is a Push (Tie) and the stake will be returned. Also we put the other half to AH Line 0.5 for Everton and of course the draw is enough to win. So, we win with a half of the stake and returned the other half
- Liverpool Win: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We Win with a loss of half of our stake and the other half of the stake will be returned. Why? Because we put half of the stake on the AH Line 0 and as we said, on a draw the bet is a Push (Tie) and the stake will be returned. Also we put the other half on the AH Line 0.5 for Everton and the draw means a loss of a half. So, we lost with a half of the stake and returned the other half
- Liverpool Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 5 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1 | 1.90 |
Case no.5 add whole goal for one of the teams (Everton). It is similar to European Handicap with a slight difference. The bet will be a Push (Tie) if the Favourite (Liverpool) win with a ONE goal margin (like 1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.)
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): The bet is a Push (Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- 2+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): The bet is a Push (Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- 2+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 4 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 0.75 | 1.90 |
Case no.4 is a combination between no.3 and no.5. We can consider it being like ½ bet as no.3 and ½ bet as no.5. In the third case we added a half goal to Everton.In the fifth case we added a whole goal for Everton. So, now we are adding a three quarters (0.75, ¾ , 0.5/1) goal for Everton.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): A half of our stake is bet on the 0.5 handicap, so we lost that half because of the Liverpool win. But the other half stake is bet with a 1 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push(Tie) and will be returned. So, we lost a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 2+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): A half of our stake is bet on the 0.5 handicap, so we win that half because of the Liverpool win. But the other half stake is bet with a 1 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push(Tie) and will be returned. So, we win with a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 2+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 7 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.5 | 1.90 |
In case no.7 an advantage of a whole and a half goal (1.5 or 1 ½) will be added to the home team (Everton). If we bet on the favourite, it is the same as the European Handicap (-1) bet on Liverpool on a single.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- 2+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We lose the whole stake
- 2+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 6 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.25 | 1.90 |
Case no.6 is a combination between no.5 and no.7. We can consider it being like ½ bet as no.5 and ½ bet as no.7. In the fifth case we added a whole goal for Everton. In the seventh case we added a whole and a half goal to Everton. So, now we are adding a whole and a quarter (1.25, 1 ¼, 1/1.5) goal for Everton.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): A half of our stake is bet on the 1.5 handicap, so we win that half because of the Liverpool win with one goal. But the other half stake is bet with the 1 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push (Tie) and will be returned. So, we win with a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 2+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): A half of our stake is bet on the 1.5 handicap, so we lost that half because of the Liverpool win with one goal. But the other half stake is bet with the 1 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push(Tie) and will be returned. So, we lost a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 2+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 9 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 2 | 1.90 |
Case no.9 add two goals for one of the teams (Everton). The bet will be a Push (Tie) if the Favourite (Liverpool) win with a TWO goal margin (like 2:0, 3:1, 4:2 etc.).
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- 2 goals margin (2:0, 3:1, 4:2 etc): The bet is a Push (Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- 3+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We lose the whole stake
- 2 goals margin(2:0, 3:1, 4:2 etc): The bet is a Push(Tie) and our full stake will be returned
- 3+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
| Case No. | Home | Away | H Odd | AH Line | A Odd |
| 8 | Everton | Liverpool | 2.00 | 1.75 | 1.90 |
Case no.8 is a combination between no.7 and no.9. We can consider it being like ¼ bet as no.7 and ¼ bet as no.8. In the seventh case we added a whole and a half goal to Everton. In the fifth case we added a two goals for Everton. So, now we are adding a whole and three quarters (1.75, 1 ¾, 1.5/2) goals for Everton.
- If we bet on Everton (Home Team and an Outsider) and:
- Everton Win: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Match Draw: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 2.00
- 2 goals margin (2:0, 3:1, 4:2 etc): A half of our stake is bet on the 1.5 handicap, so we lost that half because of the Liverpool win with two goals. But the other half stake is bet with the 2 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push (Tie) and will be returned. So, we lost a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 3+ goals margin: We lose the whole stake
- If we bet on Liverpool (Away Team and a Favourite) and:
- Everton Win: We lose the whole stake
- Match Draw: We lose the whole stake
- Liverpool Win with:
- 1 goal margin (1:0, 2:1, 3:2 etc.): We lose the whole stake
- 2 goals margin(2:0, 3:1, 4:2 etc): A half of our stake is bet on the 1.5 handicap, so we win that half because of the Liverpool win with two goals. But the other half stake is bet with the 2 goal handicap for Everton and this part is a Push (Tie) and will be returned. So, we win with a half of the stake and returned the other half
- 3+ goals margin: We win the bet with the full stake at an odd 1.90
Cases from 10 to 17 are exactly like from 2 to 9 but the underdog and the favourite are changed - Everton is the favourite and the outsider is Liverpool.
Summary table
| Handicap | Win with 3+ | Win with 2 | Win with 1 | Draw | Lost with 1 | Lost with 2 | Lost with 3+ |
| +2 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Push 100% | Lost 100% |
| +1.75 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost/Push 50% | Lost 100% |
| +1.5 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +1.25 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +1 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Push 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +0.75 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +0.5 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +0.25 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| +0 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Push 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -0.25 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -0.5 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -0.75 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Win/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -1 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Push 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -1.25 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -1.5 | Win 100% | Win 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -1.75 | Win 100% | Win/Push 50/50 | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
| -2 | Win 100% | Push 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% | Lost 100% |
