3-Way Handicap

3-Way Handicap Betting Explained

As the name says, when you are placing a 3-way handicap bet, there are three possible outcomes, home win, away win, and draw. Also, as with all other handicap bets, in the 3-way handicap market, teams are given a positive or negative handicap, such as the example below:

• Home Team (-1) - Away Team (+1)

That means that the team that gets an advantage can win even if the match ends in a draw (+1 handicap) or if it loses (+2 or more goals). On the other hand, the team that is handicapped needs to overcome the disadvantage to win. If the final score neutralizes the handicap (Home Team (-1) 2-1 Away Team (+1)), the outcome is a draw.

3-Way Handicap Examples

The best way to illustrate how the 3-way handicap line works is to look at three examples. Each of these examples will result in a different outcome. Please note how the 3-way handicap betting market differs from traditional 1x2 bets and how, unlike Asian handicap wagers, there are three possible outcomes.

Home Win

Let's say that Manchester City is playing Tottenham Hotspur. The 3-way handicap betting line is as follows:

• Manchester City (-1) - Tottenham Hotspur (+1)

As you can see, Manchester City is the favourite in this match. That's why the betting site levelled the playing field by giving Spurs a one-goal advantage. This is how the match ended:

• Manchester City (-1) 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (+1)

In this example, the home team, City, won by a two-goal margin. That means that they overcame the one-goal disadvantage. As a result, Home Win is the winning outcome in the 3-way handicap market.

Away Win

Let's say that Chelsea plays West Ham United. The 3-way handicap betting line is as follows:

• Chelsea (-1) - West Ham United (+1)

As you can see, the Blues are the favourites in this game. They get a one-goal disadvantage, while the Hammers get a one-goal head start. The result at the end of full time is:

• Chelsea (-1) 1-1 West Ham United (+1)

Even though the match ended in a draw, the winning outcome in the 3-way handicap market is the Away Win. In other words, the visitors, West Ham, win the bet because of the one-goal head start they got.

Draw

In our last example, we will look at the match between Juventus and Hellas Verona. The handicap line is as follows:

• Juventus (-2) - Hellas Verona (+2)

The home side, Juventus, is a strong favourite in this match, so bookmakers give them a two-goal disadvantage. Hellas Verona, on the other hand, is the underdog and is given a two-goal positive handicap. This is the final outcome of the match:

• Juventus (-2) 3-1 Hellas Verona (+2)

As you can see, even though Verona lost the game, the result in the handicap betting market is a draw. That's because of the two-goal advantage the away side got from the sports betting site.

3-Way Handicap vs Asian Handicap

The biggest difference between the 3-way handicap and Asian handicap betting markets is in the number of outcomes they produce. As the name implies, 3-way handicap bets can result in three outcomes, Home Win, Draw, and Away Win. In contrast, Asian handicap markets produce only two outcomes, a Home Win and an Away Win.

But why is that? The difference in outcomes comes from how the handicaps are expressed. The 3-way handicap is expressed through round-number handicaps (+1, -1, +2, -2, etc.). It is also known as a European handicap.

On the other hand, Asian handicaps are expressed in half and sometimes even quarter goals (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 1.75, etc.). It is easy to see how a half-goal advantage or disadvantage removes the draw as a possible outcome and makes it impossible for the goals scored to neutralize the handicap completely.

How to place a 3-way handicap bet?