Asian Handicap and Draw No Bet: How Quarter Lines Settle

A Draw No Bet wager removes the draw from a football match: if the chosen team wins, the bet wins; if the match is drawn, the stake comes back; if the team loses, the bet loses. An Asian handicap of 0, also written 0.0 or level ball, settles in exactly the same way.

On this page · 3 sections

1. Draw No Bet and the Zero Handicap
2. Half-Goal and Whole-Goal Lines
3. Quarter Lines and Stake Splitting

From there, Asian handicap lines add a goal start or a goal deficit, in halves and quarters. Knowing how each line splits and settles tells you before kick-off whether a given score pays in full, returns part of the stake or loses outright.

Draw No Bet and the Zero Handicap

Take R100 on Draw No Bet at odds of 1.70:

• The team wins: the bet returns R170, which is R70 profit.
• The match is drawn: the R100 stake is refunded.
• The team loses: the bet returns nothing.

The 0 Asian handicap works the same way. Bookmakers list the two under different names, and the price may differ slightly between them, but no goals are added or taken away and the draw is a refund in both. The only real question is which of the two markets offers the better price for the same bet.

Half-Goal and Whole-Goal Lines

A half-goal line can never finish level, so there is no refund. R100 on a team at -0.5 with odds of 1.95 wins only if the team wins outright, returning R195. A draw or a loss returns nothing. In effect, -0.5 is the same as backing the team to win in the 1X2 market.

A whole-goal line adds a refund on one exact margin. R100 on a team at -1 with odds of 2.30 works like this:

• A win by two or more goals returns R230.
• A win by exactly one goal refunds the R100 stake.
• A draw or a loss returns nothing.

Quarter Lines and Stake Splitting

Quarter lines such as -0.25, -0.75 and +0.25 split the stake in half across the two neighbouring lines. So -0.25 is half on 0 and half on -0.5, and -0.75 is half on -0.5 and half on -1. Part of the bet can win while the other part is refunded or lost.

Two rows explain most of the confusion.

On -0.25, a draw returns R50: the half on the 0 line is refunded, and the half on -0.5 is lost. A punter backing a favourite at -0.25 therefore loses half the stake on a draw, not all of it.

On -0.75, a win by exactly one goal returns R160. The R50 on -0.5 wins and pays R110, and the R50 on -1 is refunded. A win by two or more pays the full R220.

The +0.25 line is the mirror for the underdog. A draw returns R140: the R50 on 0 is refunded and the R50 on +0.5 wins at 1.80, paying R90.

The odds in all of these examples are illustrative, not quoted prices. Asian handicap bets are normally settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, but the operator's rules decide, so check how extra time is treated in cup matches.

Why Asian Lines Suit the PSL

The Betway Premiership has 16 clubs. Each plays every other club home and away, so every team plays 30 league matches a season, which gives handicap bettors a regular weekly fixture list. Many league matches are decided by one goal or end level, and those are exactly the results where the choice between Draw No Bet, -0.25, -0.5 and -0.75 changes the outcome of the bet.

A simple way to choose a line is to ask what result you expect and what you want protection against:

• Expect a win but fear a draw: Draw No Bet or 0 refunds the stake on a draw.
• Expect a win and accept losing half on a draw for a better price: -0.25.
• Expect a clear win but not a big one: -0.75 still pays most of the bet on a one-goal win.
• Backing an underdog to avoid defeat: +0.25 or +0.5.

Handicap lines change how a bet settles, not how likely the team is to win. They do not make betting safer, only more precise. Betting is for adults aged 18 and over, and free, confidential counselling is available from the National Responsible Gambling Programme on 0800 006 008.