Teaser Betting
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If you’ve dabbled a bit in sports betting, you may have placed wagers on a point spread before. Teaser betting takes the concept of betting on a point spread and applies it across multiple games. Additionally, you can adjust the point spread when placing a teaser bet.
Betting on multiple games in a single wager can lead to generous winnings for you. So how exactly does teaser betting work? And what are some tips for knowing how to place a teaser bet? We’ve covered these questions and more in the rest of the article.
CONTENTS
- What is a Teaser Bet?
- NFL Teaser Betting
- How to Place a Teaser
- Where to Place a Bet
- Teaser Betting Strategy
- FAQ - Betting Odds Explained
- Final Thoughts
WHAT IS A TEASER BET
You may already be familiar with a parlay bet. In a parlay, you place a single wager on the outcomes of multiple games. Teaser betting is similar in the sense that you’re also betting on multiple games. The difference is how the point spread functions with a teaser bet.
Teaser betting lets the bettor favorably adjust the point spreads for the games involved in the teaser. This concept takes some getting used to, but it’s crucial to understanding how to place a teaser bet. Follow the example below to see this principle applied in a realistic situation.
HOW DOES A TEASER BET WORK?
Let’s say that your sportsbook was offering regular betting odds for the New York Giants to win versus the Pittsburgh Steelers by a three-point spread. Additionally, the betting odds for the Dallas Cowboys to beat the Houston Texans are three points as well.
When you place a teaser betting wager, you decide on the point spread within a range the sportsbook offers. Typically this is either six, six and a half, or seven points. For our example, let’s imagine you bet on these two games with a six-point teaser.
You can place your teaser bet on either the favorites or the underdogs for these games. Whichever you pick, a teaser bet adjusts the point spread in your favor.
Let’s say you backed the underdogs with a $50 teaser bet. As long as the Steelers and Cowboys lose or win by less than nine points, you’re in the money. On the other hand, if you go for the favorites, your teams can actually still lose as long as the spread is less than three points.
CALCULATING TEASER ODDS AND PAYOUTS
Now that you know how to place a teaser bet, you’re probably wondering about how to calculate your winnings. In teaser betting, the odds for the payout are determined by the number of teams in your teaser, and the point spread you’re betting on.
Let’s keep using our example from above, where you have a $100 wager on a two-team, six-point spread. Your teams both come out on top, so you cash out your teaser bet. You check the odds, and the sportsbook you’re using pays out two-team six-point teasers at -110.
To determine your winnings from American odds, think of these moneyline odds in terms of $100 wagers. A $100 wager on a teaser with -110 odds would pay out a little over $90.
The -110 odds used in our example are only hypothetical. Each sportsbook will have its own payouts depending on the teaser bets. The important thing to remember is that the odds are determined by the number of teams in your teaser and the point spread.
You can also use our teaser calculator.
NFL TEASER BETTING
Teaser betting is most often offered for professional football. You might see some sportsbooks offering teasers for other sports, but point spreads are a common convention used in football betting which makes it an easy match for teaser betting.
Once you know how to place a teaser bet, you could bet on a whole night’s worth of action on a single wager. Betting $100 on the Eagles to beat the Washington Football Team can net you some substantial winnings, but if you put that same bet on a teaser with the other games of the day, your winnings could skyrocket.
That’s the tradeoff when it comes to teasers. Your single-game bet is more likely to pay out but won’t have the same potential rewards as a teaser bet. Weighing your options and deciding on the tradeoff of risk against reward is a personal choice each bettor must consider.
EXAMPLES OF TEASER BETS
Here's a teaser bet example using the results of Super Bowl LVI in 2022. If you had the Bengals (sorry) on a spread bet that you wanted to tease, it might look like this:
- Bengals +10.5 + Over 39.5 (-127)
In the above example, that +10.5 was teased up so that there's a better chance that you'll hit the over. However, we all know how that turned out.
HOW TO PLACE A TEASER BET
You can place a teaser bet whether you are wagering at an in-person casino or using an online sportsbook. Follow these detailed steps on how to place a teaser bet.
PLACING A TEASER IN PERSON
If you’re placing your bet at a physical sportsbook, you could simply tell the ticket writer the details of your bet. With all of the complexities of teasers, however, this approach often too confusing and time-consuming. That’s why most in-person teaser betting is done with a teaser card.
Fill out the card with the teams you want to include in your teaser bet. A teaser card usually comes with a fixed-point spread printed on it, so fill out your bet on a card that corresponds with the point spread you want to bet on.
Other casinos use live point spread odds and adjust the spread when the wager is placed. The casino’s ticket writer will confirm that you accept the spread when you place your wager. Players new to teaser betting may feel intimidated by this process, but you aren’t obligated to accept the casino’s spread, and you should feel free to decline these line charges.
PLACING A TEASER AT AN ONLINE SPORTSBOOK
Betting through an online service adds convenience compared to the face-to-face experience. Different sportsbooks will have unique interfaces, but generally, it’s as simple as selecting the teams and totals, picking the “teaser” option, then confirming your teaser point-spread.
Other online sportsbooks might use virtual teaser cards instead, similar to what you would see at a physical casino. Select your teams and teaser spread, then the teaser card will show the adjusted point spreads for each game.
WHERE TO PLACE A TEASER BET?
Here is our expert selection of the bookmaker where you can place a Teaser Bet right away :
| Book Offer | Legal States | |
|---|---|---|
| | ||
| 2  | | |
| |
*In-person registration and betting only in MS.
**The BetMGM app is available for mobile wagers in Washington DC, but only at Nationals Park.
Updated on : 04/19/2024
TEASER BETTING STRATEGY
Like with so many sports-betting topics, there are many different schools of thought concerning how to best use teasers to your advantage. Let’s take a look at one basic teasing strategy.
Three and seven point margins of victory are by far the most common in football. If you bet a six-point teaser on +1.5 to +2.5 on the underdogs or -7.5 to -8.5 on the favorites, you move the point spread within this margin. That maximizes your chances of placing a winning bet on each game.
Let’s take a look at a few more specific scenarios that may surface when you’re wagering on teasers.
TEASER RULES FOR PUSHES
To illustrate this idea, imagine you had a three-team teaser that called wins for the Seahawks, Rams, and the Broncos. The Seahawks and Rams both beat the spread in their games, but the Broncos end with a push. You would still win, but you would only be paid for a two-team teaser.
Most sportsbooks will follow these guidelines for pushes in teaser betting. If you play a 2-team teaser and only one wins, however, your bet will be graded a push, and your stake will be refunded. Make sure to read up on the rules for any sportsbook that you visit before deciding how to place a teaser bet.
REVERSE TEASERS (PLEASERS)
Some sportsbooks may offer a special kind of teaser betting called pleaser bets or reverse teasers. These wagers increase the risk of your ticket but compensate for it with more generous payouts. They follow the same rules as teasers, except the point spread is adjusted against you instead of in your favor.
For example, let’s say you wanted to place a three-team teaser bet on the Raiders, Jaguars, and Buccaneers. Each of the teams are favorites in their respective games, predicted to win by at least a three-point spread.
If you put these games on a seven-point pleaser, the spread that they must cover for your bet to win increases to 10. Where teaser betting effectively moves the spread to the bettor’s advantage, a pleaser bet changes the spread in the opposite way. This is compensated for by the fact that these bets pay generously.
FAQ
WHAT IS A TEASER IN BETTING?
A "teaser" in betting is essentially a point spread bet that allows you to add a "teaser" and shift the point spread closer to your expected result. For example, if a team is slated at -2.5 on the spread and you think they're going to blow that out of the water, you can "tease" the spread in the direction you think the game will go and increase your chances of a winning bet.
HOW DO YOU BET A TEASER?
If teasers are offered by your preferred sportsbook, the best way to bet a teaser is to look for point spreads that you could tease in your favor, say an underdog slated at +2.5 that you tease up to +7.5. It's always a good idea to look for hidden value in a bet, especially a teaser bet.
ARE TEASER BETS PROFITABLE?
Any bet can be profitable if it's fun, so educate yourself on how the bet works, make a bet within your limits, and don't expect betting to be an investment strategy. That being said, it's more advisable to bet teasers where a team could reasonably score six points more or less than expected; NHL games are probably not the best bet for a teaser.
ARE TEASER BETS EASIER TO WIN?
Not necessarily: you'd think that teasers give bettors a chance to spread out some of their bets across potential outcomes, but actually, teaser bets can be quite difficult and limiting. Make sure you're well-educated on how to bet teasers using our guide before you put down your hard-earned money.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Teaser betting ups the ante on your usual point spread bets by letting you wager on multiple games with a single bet. In the same way, a parlay has bigger payout potentials than a simple moneyline bet, a teaser can earn you significantly-increased winnings compared to a single point spread.
That potential for massive wins comes with an added risk. You’ll have to assess that trade off each time you place one of these bets. But with a little luck, you could end up with some serious cash payouts from your teaser.
Other great betting types you can learn how to place thanks to our betting experts:
Betting Odds Explained | Futures Betting | Hedge Betting | Moneyline Betting | Prop Betting | Point Spread Betting