How handicaps actually work
A handicap runs from -2 to 10 and rates you as a player, not as a goalscorer. Team handicaps are the four added together, and the difference goes on the board before anyone hits a ball.
The key points
- Add the four players together for the team handicap.
- The weaker team starts with the difference already on the scoreboard.
- A half goal is often used so that games cannot be drawn.
- Ten goal players are rare. Most of the world plays between -2 and 2.
In the app this play is animated, and you can spin the pitch and read the rule behind it.
See it move
See this play animated on the pitch, and test yourself on the rules behind it.
Every rule here is stated in our own words, with short quoted extracts from the HPA Blue Book 2026 and Green Book 2025 and a link to the book itself. Polo Rules Test is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with the Hurlingham Polo Association. In any dispute the published rulebook governs.