2-way handicap meaning in football\n\n For example, if you place a 2-way handicap bet on a football match between Manchester United and Liverpool, and the handicap is set at +1 for Manchester United, it means that Manchester United will start the match with a one-goal advantage.

In Rugby the bookies will handicap the team they feel is more likely to win, they do this by starting them on minus points, the other team then has a plus handicap. The idea of this is to even out the chances of the 2 and in theory make betting more even. A good example of this might be team A  5.