Teasers, also known as a teaser bet or a teaser wager, are a sort of sports betting technique that lets you move the point spread on basketball and football teams when you combine multiple selections for a single wager.
Teaser bets are quite similar to parlays. Investopedia classifies it as a type of parlay bet. In a sense, teasers make it easier for bettors to win bets. But many seasoned bettors are not inclined to make teaser bets, because it means that for you to claim your winnings, you have to win all the games in the wager.
This unlikeliness to wager on teasers might also be due to the premium sportsbook charge for them. What this means is that teaser bets come with a lower payout than your typical bets. The larger you move the point spread, the bigger the premium.
But many recreational bettors, and some seasoned ones too, have discovered the many benefits of betting teasers. We will look at these benefits, but first, let’s understand exactly what teasers are.
What Are Teasers in Betting?
Teaser bets are a popular type of wager in sports betting that offer a unique twist on traditional betting options. They provide bettors with the opportunity to adjust the point spread or totals line in their favor, albeit with adjusted odds. Essentially, teaser bets allow bettors to combine multiple bets into a single wager while adjusting the point spread or totals line by a predetermined number of points in their favor.
Here’s how it works: Let’s say you’re interested in betting on two football games. In one game, Team A is favored by 7 points, and in the other game, Team B is favored by 10 points. With a teaser bet, you can adjust each point spread by a certain number of points in your favor, typically 6, 6.5, or 7 points. So, if you choose a 6-point teaser, you would adjust the point spreads in both games by 6 points.
For example, if you bet on Team A (-7) and Team B (-10) with a 6-point teaser, the adjusted point spreads would become Team A (-1) and Team B (-4). This means that for your bet to be successful, Team A would only need to win by more than 1 point, and Team B would only need to win by more than 4 points.
Teaser bets can also be used for totals, where bettors can adjust the total points scored in a game up or down by a certain number of points. This allows for more flexibility and control over the outcome of the bet.
Overall, teaser bets offer bettors the chance to potentially increase their chances of winning by adjusting the point spreads or totals lines in their favor, although it comes with the trade-off of lower odds compared to traditional bets. They are particularly popular among bettors who enjoy a strategic approach to sports betting and are looking for ways to enhance their potential payouts.
How Does a Teaser Bet Work?
Original Point Spread
Teasing your original point spread implies shifting it to your favor by several points. How far you can tease your original spread depends on the type of bet and the sportsbook you are wagering on.
Teaser bets also vary based on the type of sports you are wagering on. Basketball teasers are a bit different from teasing football games. And your odds will continue to reduce as you subtract and add more points.
Your payout is also dependent on the number of games and the point spread or total. If you are moving points on multiple games, then obviously, the potential payout won’t be as much as when you have fewer games.
Put simply, teaser bets are meant to make your original spread more favorable but at the expense of your odds.
Margins of Victory
Margins of victory refer to the difference in points, goals, or other scoring units between the winning team or participant and the losing team or participant in a sporting event. It’s essentially the numerical gap that separates the performance of the winning side from that of the losing side.
In sports betting, margins of victory play a crucial role in determining the outcome of bets, especially those involving point spreads or totals. For example, if Team A is favored to win a basketball game by 5 points, then a margin of victory of 6 points or more would result in a successful bet for those who wagered on Team A. Conversely if Team A wins by only 3 points, then the bet would be considered unsuccessful, as the margin of victory was less than the point spread.
Margins of victory can vary significantly depending on the sport and the specific matchup. So, let’s take a look at some of the margin of victory that sport bettors use when placing teasers:
- Basketball: The most common margins of victory in basketball are 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,10,11, and 14 points. To get a better chance at winning bettors try to adjust the point spread by 4 to 6 points.
- Football Games: The most common margins of victory in football are 3,4,6,7, and 10 points.
- Baseball and hockey are not as common in sports betting, but they also have margins of victory. For baseball, the margins of victory are 1 and 2 runs, while for hockey it is 1 and 2 goals.
How to Calculate a Teaser Bet
Calculating a teaser bet involves adjusting the point spreads or totals lines of selected games by a predetermined number of points and determining the potential payout based on the adjusted lines. While the calculation process may vary slightly depending on the specific rules of the sportsbook and the type of teaser bet chosen, the price is usually based on the following factors:
- The type of sport
- The number of points you are teasing.
- The number of games you have included in your selection.
Be careful when placing teaser bets because a small change in odds can affect margins by a lot.
Types of Teaser Bets
Two Team Teasers
A two-team teaser is among the most common types of teaser bets. As the name suggests, bettors select two separate outcomes from different games and adjust the point spreads or totals lines in their favor.
To win a two-team teaser, the total score of the game must be somewhere within your adjusted total.
Six Point Teasers
Six-point teasers are a popular choice for bettors looking to adjust point spreads or totals lines by a moderate margin. With a six-point teaser, bettors can move the point spread or totals line in their favor by six points, providing a significant advantage while still maintaining relatively favorable odds.
Six-point teaser bets are very common in basketball, football, and hockey. They typically involve two or more teams and the selections are all adjusted by six points.
Reverse Teasers
Reverse teasers, also known as pleasers, are the opposite of standard teasers and involve adjusting the lines against the bettor’s favor. Instead of decreasing the point spread or totals line, reverse teasers increase these lines by a predetermined number of points, making it more difficult for the bettor to win. While reverse teasers offer higher payouts if successful, they are inherently riskier and require the bettor to overcome greater odds to win the bet.
7-Point Teasers
Seven-point teasers are similar to six-point teasers but allow bettors to adjust point spreads or totals lines by an additional point. This implies that the bettor can adjust the point spread by seven points.
This extra point can make a significant difference in the outcome of a bet, providing bettors with even greater flexibility and potential advantage. However, it will reduce the payout more than a six-point teaser.
Seven-point teasers are particularly popular among bettors who prefer to adjust lines by larger margins to maximize their chances of success.
Super Teasers
Super teasers are a high-risk, high-reward variation of teaser bets that allow bettors to adjust point spreads or totals lines by a substantial margin, typically 10 points or more. While super teasers offer the potential for significant payouts if successful, they also come with increased risk due to the larger adjustments made to the lines. Super teasers are best suited for bettors who are willing to accept higher levels of risk in exchange for the possibility of greater rewards.
Overall, the variety of teaser bet types available caters to different preferences and risk tolerances among bettors.
Benefits and Risks of Playing Teasers
All forms of sports betting come with associated risks and teaser bets are not any different. Here are a few of the benefits and risks that come with betting teasers.
Benefits
- Increased Flexibility: Teaser bets offer bettors the flexibility to adjust point spreads or totals lines in their favor by a predetermined number of points. This flexibility allows bettors to tailor their wagers to their assessments of a game’s likely outcome, potentially increasing their chances of winning.
- Reduced Risk: By adjusting point spreads or totals lines in their favor, teaser bets can help reduce the risk associated with traditional betting options. Bettors have the opportunity to cushion their bets against narrow defeats or unexpected outcomes, providing a buffer that can help mitigate losses.
- Enhanced Odds of Winning: While teaser bets typically come with lower odds compared to traditional bets, the trade-off is that they offer bettors an increased likelihood of winning. By adjusting the point spread or totals line in their favor, bettors can improve their chances of a successful outcome, even if it means accepting slightly lower payouts.
- Opportunity for Parlays: Teaser bets can be combined with other bets to create parlays, allowing bettors to increase their potential payouts while still benefiting from the advantages of teaser betting. Parlaying teaser bets with other wagers adds another layer of excitement and potential profit to the betting experience.
- Versatility Across Sports: Teaser bets can be applied to various sports and events, including football, basketball, hockey, and more. This versatility allows bettors to utilize teaser bets across different sports seasons and tournaments, providing ample opportunities for engagement and potential profit throughout the year.
Risks
- Low Payouts: Teaser bets might make it easier for bettors to win, but it is at the expense of odds. So, while the chances of winning are higher, payouts will be relatively lower than, say, parlays or straight bets. Put simply, bettors are sacrificing odds for a chance at easing the original point spread.
- Still Difficult to Win: Teaser bets might offer a better chance of winning, but they are still difficult to win outright. This is because, like your typical bet, you still need to predict the correct outcomes for multiple games. And even though you have adjusted the point spreads there is still a limited margin for error. Unexpected outcomes or narrow victories by the favored team can still result in losses, especially when combined with lower odds.
- Overconfidence: The flexibility offered by teaser bets may lead some bettors to become overconfident in their selections. Adjusting point spreads or totals lines can create a false sense of security, causing bettors to overlook crucial factors or underestimate the potential for unexpected outcomes. Overconfidence can lead to poor decision-making and ultimately result in losses. It could also lead to you adding more teams to your selection. Teasers are already more difficult to win than a standard bet; adding more teams will make it even harder.
Overall, while teaser bets offer certain advantages such as increased flexibility and reduced risk, they also carry inherent risks that bettors must consider.
How to Make a Good Teaser Bet
Placing teaser bets requires strategic and critical thinking. Bettors have to understand the rules guiding the sports they are betting on and how teaser bets apply to them. Let’s take a look at the steps you can follow to play teaser bets:
- Choosing the right sports betting platform: Not all sportsbooks offer teaser betting, so the first step is to pick a reputable platform that lets bettors make teaser bets. Most online sportsbooks do this, but there are also brick-and-mortar sportsbooks that do too.
- Choose the sport: The next step is to pick a sport to place your teaser bets on. Basketball teasers and football game teasers are common. However, baseball and hockey also offer great options for teaser bets. So, choose a game, and ensure you understand every detail about betting on the game including the rules, margins of victory, and the point spread or total.
- Select your totals: Next thing you have to do is select the teams you will add to your teaser bet. This will be easy to do if you have understood the rules of the game and the point spread for each selection.
- Decide how much you want to adjust your point spread: We have given you a guide on what margins of victory are. So, decide on the number of points to adjust, and this could be as much as seven points depending on the sports and the type of teaser.
- Pick a wager amount: How much do you want to wager? Choose an amount keeping in mind that teaser bets mean lower payouts.
- Place your Teaser Bet: Once you are done picking your selection, input it into the sportsbook, select the number of points you want to adjust them by and deposit the amount you want to wager. Confirm and wait to claim your winnings.
Don’t forget to monitor your bets in real-time and if your games all pull through, you can collect your winnings as long as you have met the terms and conditions of the sportsbook. However, if you lose, you forfeit the amount you wagered.
Should You Use Teaser Bets
Teaser bets are not great as a long-term betting strategy. It compounds the risk and sometimes the payouts are not worth it.
But teasers have also given positive outcomes to several players, not to speak of the excitement it offers players. So, if you do decide to wager on teasers, here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Do not tease through zero. If a team is -3, do not adjust it to 6.
- Be careful while playing basketball teasers. There is just too much variance in basketball scoring.
- Teasing college football is not such a good bet. They are not profitable enough for you to worry about.
Are Teasers Better Than Parlays?
Deciding whether teasers are better than parlays ultimately depends on individual betting preferences, risk tolerance, and strategic approach. Both teaser bets and parlays offer unique advantages and disadvantages, making them suitable for different types of bettors and betting scenarios.
Teasers may be preferable for bettors seeking increased flexibility and reduced risk, while parlays may be more suitable for those seeking higher payouts and are willing to accept greater risk.
Conclusion
Teaser bets are a form of parlay bet that lets bettors adjust their point spread so they stand a better chance of winning. Teaser bets have risks and factors that can affect success or failure including lower payouts, potential overconfidence, limited margin for error, complexity and strategy, and dependency on timing.
However, teaser bets offer bettors a range of benefits, including increased flexibility, reduced risk, enhanced odds of winning, strategic advantage, versatility across sports, and heightened engagement and entertainment value. While they may not be suitable for every bettor or every situation, teaser bets provide a valuable option for those looking to add variety and excitement to their sports betting endeavors.
