Sports Betting Teasers

A teaser is a type of multi-team wager that most common in football and basketball betting.  In a teaser bet, the bettor is able to adjust the point spread a certain amount of points in their favor with much less of a return then a typical parlay without a change in the point spread would show.  Most teasers require the bettor to choose 2 teams or more at the very least with the larger teasers requiring 15 teams or possibly more depending on the rules of your sportsbook. 

Typically those betting teasers are able to adjust the point spread by anywhere from 4 to 16 points in basketball and 5 to 20 points in football with a 15-team 16-point basketball teaser returning roughly .70 cents for every $1.00 bet assuming all the adjusted point spread find their mark.  Teasers are not to be confused with “pleasers” where the bettor can move the point spread a certain amount of points the wrong way with the payouts increasing the more points and teams added to the pleaser.  An example of what a teaser looks like would be if the normal point spread listed the Knicks at -3, the Raptors at +6, and the Pacers at +3 and you teased each bet by, say, 10 points.  You would know have teaser odds of the Knicks +7, the Raptors +16, and the Pacers +13. 

Be sure to check your sportsbooks rules before betting on a teaser as some places will rule that a tied game in your teaser is a loss while others will just take that pushed game off of your teaser and reduce the payout if the rest of the games on your teaser are winners with the only common ground amongst online sportsbooks being that a two-team teaser with a pushed bet will pay back nothing although some sportsbooks may refund while others count that situation as a loss.

Most gamblers love to bet teasers to get that added cushion on the bets they think will likely win without the help but there are also some out there who prefer to leave them alone because, like their name indicates, they can tease gamblers with how easy they appear to win.  It’s fairly common to win every game but one in a larger teaser with a nice payout, and with the lines being moved by a bit generally the losses are extremely close to the number in the teaser.  Many can overlook that due to the fact that teasers are just plain fun to bet with those extra points.

Although basketball teasers can definitely be profitable, most find that football is where they really maximize their value with crazy upsets more prevalent in basketball.  An argument for using teasers in football is that the linesmakers are getting so good that the point spread falls very close to the sportsbook’s predicted line so that by teasing the line and adding points to an already fairly accurate number, you are much more likely to win.  Teasers were made specifically for football and although you can still find value in a basketball teaser, football is generally more profitable.  Most books allow you to combine basketball and football when setting up your teaser.

Another great rule to help out with making sure that you win money with your football teasers is to tease games on key numbers to get them off of the key numbers.  Just like in a parlay, you won’t want numbers like 3, 7, 10, or 14 in your teaser, especially if ties can lose your bet for you.  Just watch what numbers you have after you pick your games and you’ll avoid any potential pushes or losses resulting from holding a key number in your teaser.

No matter what you decide to use your teaser points on, most gamblers find this way to bet as one of the most fun out of all available betting options so put in a few and just hope you don’t get “teased”.

Below are roughly the payouts for some popular football teasers:

Below are roughly the payouts for some popular basketball teasers: