In the field of sports betting, many technical terms help players navigate in this area. Knowledge of these terms not only helps to better understand the features of sports betting, but also allows you to avoid mistakes when making bets, and, accordingly, can help inexperienced gamblers save their money and even avoid a possible loss.
That is why, if you are going to seriously engage in sports betting, you need to learn the basic terms and understand their meaning. In this review, we will consider the term PK – find out its meaning, features, and scope in sports betting.
The meaning
PK (also called “zero handicaps”) is a type of betting in the field of bookmaking, in which each player gets the opportunity to insure himself if the match or part of it (time, period) ends in a draw.
Zero handicaps in bets imply that the player bets on the victory of one of the opponents. Moreover, if the match ends in a draw, then the player can receive a refund of his bet (that is, all his funds that he put on the outcome of the event).
Features
The peculiarity of such a betting type is that the odds for a zero handicap are always slightly lower. This is because such a rate covers two outcomes at once (that is, the probability that you will not lose money is 66%, and the probability of winning is 33%).
If you are not sure when to place a bet with zero handicaps, then it is important to understand that such bets are, first of all, an opportunity to hedge. Most often they are done when the opponents have approximately the same chances of winning and it is difficult to say who is the favorite.
Handicap betting example
Many players who are experienced, before playing handicaps, carefully study the statistics of the teams to determine which team has the best chance of winning. If in this way it was possible to determine the favorite, then you can bet on the victory of one of the rivals, but with a safety net. In this case, the final score of the match does not matter. The most important thing is that the team that the player has chosen does not lose.
Due to the reasons described above, zero handicap in sports betting is not very profitable when the favorite is obvious. Largely because bookmakers offer players low odds on a possible winner. But if you are confident that the outsider of the meeting can be the winner, then you have a good opportunity to make good money.
In more detail
A win with a zero handicap assumes that the player is betting on the victory of one of the opponents. At the same time, as mentioned above, if the opponents played a draw, such a bet does not lose but is calculated with a coefficient of 1.0, that is, it is returned to the player.
To understand how the zero handicap works, consider three options for the outcome of a sporting event.
- Draw – the bookmaker returns the amount of his bet to the player.
- The winnings of the selected athlete or team (with any score) – in this case, the player makes a profit according to the specified coefficient.
- The loss of the selected athlete or team (with any score) – in this case, the player’s bet loses.
It is important to keep in mind that the odds for a zero bet are always lower than for a bet on a normally winning outcome. However, zero bets are considered safer because, in the event of a tie, they will be refunded. It is for this reason that many players often call this type of handicap insurance. You can place a zero bet on any of the opponents.
When is it profitable for a player to make betting on a handicap with zero?
As mentioned earlier, bets with zero handicap are a help for the player, since such a bet is a way to hedge oneself if the strength of two opponents to win is approximately equal and it is difficult to predict exactly who will be the winner.
Experts in sports betting recommend in such situations to determine who is the implicit favorite (has at least a slight advantage).
To do this, you need to look at the statistics of the game of both opponents. After that, you need to insure yourself against a possible draw with a zero handicap. The advantage of a zero handicap is that in this case, the score of the match does not matter – the fact of the victory of the chosen team (or athlete) is important to the player. But in sports confrontations with a clear favorite and an outsider, a zero handicap on the favorite is not very profitable due to low odds.
Designation of zero rates in bookmakers
Different bookmakers designate this type of bet in different ways. The most popular are the following:
- “F1 (0)” or “F2 (0)”, where 1 and 2 are the designation of the teams (the number 1 stands for the home team, and the number 2 for the away team);
- “1 (0)” or “2 (0)”;
- “Handicap 1 (0)” or “Handicap 2 (0)”.
Sometimes it happens that bookmakers use names instead of numbers. Then the “H1 (0)” bet on the Liverpool team will be designated as “Liverpool (0)”. As you can see, the zero handicaps have neither positive nor negative value – only zero.
An example of using a zero handicap
To better understand the principle of using a zero handicap, let’s look at a specific quick example:
Take as an example a match between two teams – Arsenal vs. Chelsea.
Even if you hope one team will win, it is risky to bet on it. Since the strengths of the teams are approximately equal and it is difficult to determine the clear favorite, you can apply a zero handicap on the guests: The “H2 (0)” bet.
In this case, the following outcomes are obtained:
Chelsea win
At the same time, it is not at all important for us with what score – the very fact of the victory of this team is important. In this case, the handicap value must be added to the total number of team goals (in our case, we add zero), and still, we get a victory for Chelsea. This means that the bet “H2 (0)” is played;
The outcome of the match is a draw (again, it doesn’t matter with what score).
In this case, we add the value of the handicap to the total number of team goals and still get a draw. It turns out that the “H2 (0)” bet turned out to be a return;
The Arsenal team wins (in this case, as in the previous ones, it doesn’t matter with what score – the very fact of victory is important).
In this case, the handicap must be added to Chelsea’s total goals. As a result, we are defeated. The “H2 (0)” bet did not come in.
In the same way, you can calculate the zero handicaps on the hosts. Bet “H1 (0)” differs from bet “1X” in the case of a draw. In the case of a bet through a double outcome, the bet goes through, through a zero handicap – we get a refund.
In what sports can you find bets on zero handicap
The main subject of a handicap in any sport is the victory of a certain team. Some bookmaker companies with a good line and list offer to bet on various statistics:
- For football (soccer betting), such indicators are: shots on goal, corners, yellow cards, fouls;
- For tennis, such indicators are: games and feed through;
- For hockey, the following are important: send-offs, throw-ins, throws reflected by the goalkeeper;
- For American football, touchdowns, and passes, yellow flags (violations of the rules) are important.
Pros and Cons of Zero Handicap Betting
Rate Insurance
The main advantage of a zero handicap is the ability to hedge the player. If the game does not go according to plan and ends in a draw, it is much more profitable to get a refund at zero handicaps than a failure to bet at “W1”.
The fact of victory
Unlike a minus handicap, it doesn’t matter with what score a team or an athlete wins – the fact of victory is important.
Low odds
However, it should be noted that a zero handicap does not provide an opportunity to earn more money if you do not bet on wild outsiders. also, disadvantages include low odds for this type of bet, so it is not suitable for wagering “failures” either.
Loss of winnings in a draw
Experts advise making bets with zero handicaps in matches with equal rivals – then the player will be able to save his money if the rivals draw. Also, the zero handicaps are suitable for those who like to take risks: the “1X” bet can be replaced with “H1 (0)” – then, in case of a draw, the player loses part of the guaranteed profit.
More information about point spread betting, win outright, betting odds, different statistics, and efficiency rating of paying field you may find on the websites.
Conclusion
Having considered the features of bets with zero handicap, we can conclude that this type of bet is very popular among players due to the possibility of a return. Despite this, only those players who are well versed in bets and have experience in the game should make this type of bet, because under certain conditions they can lose the entire amount of the bet.
Zero handicaps are available for many popular sports, so almost all bookmaker companies and most sportsbooks include this type of bet in their line.
Last updated on 31 Oct 2022 - 14:52
