Sports terminology: what is a handicap?

The meaning of the word "handicap" is not known to many. Despite the fact that this term is found in various spheres, the best people understand what is at stake, sportsmen, fans and sports fans. What is a handicap? This article will answer this question.

What does the term "handicap" mean?

There are many definitions and meanings for this word. Usually, this sports term means giving some advantage to weaker teams in order to equalize their opportunities with obvious leaders. In other words, a handicap is a kind of bonuses or extra points, which are added to inexperienced teams by tournament organizers to give them a chance to win.

Where does the term "handicap" apply?

What is handicap, bookmakers know for sure. This kind of betting is becoming more popular with sports players or bettors. Most often the term is used in those kinds of sports competitions, which take place in several stages, and the victory is given to the team that scored the maximum number of points. That is, a handicap appears when artificially created a situation of continuous competition, where each participant in the game at the last stage is added an additional bonus, which is made up of the results of the teams in previous rounds. With this advantage, you can easily determine the winner even at the last stage of the competition, without recounting points and time differences in the early stages of the game.

This bonus is found in various sports - biathlon, ski races, pentathlon, equestrian sport, golf and even chess. The football handicap takes a special place in the bookmakers.

What is a handicap in skiing? This term is used where victory is determined by a temporary factor. Further, the time of the race leader is deducted from the time of each competitor, and in the next round the athletes are released on the track after the leader in this time interval.

As for golf, the bonus is the numerical indicator of the athlete's classification, the pentathlon uses a time interval, and in equestrian sport a weight and distance handicap is singled out, equalizing the chances of horses of different ages by reducing the length of the distance or adding extra weight.

What is a handicap in football?

In addition to these sports competitions, this definition is often used in football. If you try to explain the essence in plain language, then the meaning of the handicap is the following: the weaker team writes an additional ball. Their number can be different, it all depends on the team. The use of handicap by bookmakers makes bets on football more popular and interesting.

Kinds of football handicap

Speaking about the forehead, advantages and bonuses in football, there are two main types:

• European handicap (it is also called triple or 3Way);
• Asian handicap.

The stakes of the first type of advantage offer odds for all the outcomes of the match - the victory of the first or second teams and a draw, unlike the second, in which the game with an equal account is not included in the list. The main feature of the triple handicap is that you can not return the bet either completely or partially, it either wins or loses. Unlike the European one, where there are three game strategies, Asian players are chosen by players less prone to risk, since the absence of such an outcome as a draw gives a greater chance of winning - 50/50.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the handicap can be different. It all depends on the conditions set by the organizers of the tournament, and the player's belonging to a particular group.