Teaser Bets - Teaser Rules And Payouts Explained
One of the most common betting options available at online sportsbooks, teaser bets are an excellent way to place a bet on multiple games without the same risks associated with parlays. Teaser betting options vary depending on the sport, with basketball and football the two most common. Teaser bets can be placed against the spread, on the total for a game, or on a combination of both. The purpose of placing a teaser is to move a preset betting line more in the bettor’s favor, which results in a higher chance of success with a lower payout than a parlay.
What Is A Teaser?
A teaser is a parlay of adjusted betting lines that have been moved in the bettor's favor. With the adjusted betting lines making the bets more likely to hit, online sportsbooks shorten the odds to reflect that increased liklihood of sucess.
Example Of A Teaser
In the made-up example below, four bets on teams to cover the spread will be made into a teaser bet. Comparing this teaser example to the same bets made in a parlay shows the advantage and disadvantages of teasers. For each team chosen, the bet would have been on them to cover the spread. At the bottom of the table, the odds of both the teaser and parlay are shown to reflect the difference in payouts.
Teaser Example
| Team: | Parlay: | 6 Point Teaser: |
|---|---|---|
| Colts Spread: | -8 | -2 |
| Patriots Spread: | -5.5 | +0.5 |
| Bills Spread: | -0.0 | +6 |
| Odds: | +1228 | +260 |
Teaser Wager Payouts
Teaser payouts are dependent on two separate variables: total legs involved in the teaser and the points adjustment of the teaser. Online sportsbooks vary in their exact payouts per each teaser, but using the NFL regular season teaser payouts offered by Bovada as an example shows how payouts change based on both those variables.
| Teaser Legs: | 6 Point Teaser: | 6.5 Point Teaser: | 7 Point Teaser: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | -120 | -130 | -140 |
| 3 | +150 | +135 | +120 |
| 4 | +260 | +225 | +200 |
| 5 | +400 | +350 | +325 |
| 6 | +600 | +500 | +450 |
| 7 | +900 | +800 | +700 |
| 8 | +1400 | +1100 | +900 |
| 9 | +1900 | +1500 | +1200 |
| 10 | +2500 | +2000 | +1500 |
Teaser Betting Strategies
- NFL: Move point totals based on likely scores. Players will want to make their odds shorter based on the seven implied points on touchdowns and three points of a field goal.
- NBA: The most common margin of victories in basketball are 5 and 7 points, so teasing bets based on those numbers make the most sense when maximizing earnings.
How Are Teasers Different From Pleasers + Parlays?
Teasers, players, and parlays are all cut from the same cloth, but slightly different from one another. One way to simplify them is to compare them to the houses in the classic fairytale of the three little pigs. Teasers are like the house made from stone in that they are likely to stand the test of time because they provide bettors with a higher chance of success because of the increased likelihood of each bet. Parlays are the house made of sticks. They are not very advanced, provide little protection for each bet, and have a low likelihood of success. Pleaser bets are very similar to the house made of straw because they fall very easily and are almost guaranteed to fail. In short, teaser bets have the highest chance of paying out with the shortest odds, parlays have moderate chances of success with larger payouts, and pleasers have little to no chance of paying out while offering the largest payouts.
Where Can I Make A Teaser Bet Online?
Most, if not all, reputable online sportsbooks offer teaser bets. Given the popularity of teaser betting, it is hard to find a sportsbook that would not allow teaser betting options. The sports and different leagues may change, but teasers should be available in some fashion.
Why Would I Want To Make A Teaser Bet?
So, let’s say you felt pretty ok about the idea that the Patriots would beat the Dolphins, but you weren’t sure how much they’d win by. Meanwhile, you’re confident that the 49ers will beat the Seahawks but you aren’t sure if they'll do so by enough to cover the spread. You can tease these two games together in order to lower the spread on both of them. If both of the teams were 7.5 point favorites, you might be able to tease that down to 5.5 point favorites, meaning that a touchdown victory in both games will give you the win. That’s the basic idea, but they can get much more complex, especially when you introduce other teams to the teaser. Generally, though, people only end up teasing two outcomes together - it gets quite hard otherwise.