Guide to Teasers in Betting; Everything You Need to Know Regarding Teaser Wagers

Introduction to Teasers

A teaser is comparable to a traditional parlay in that each leg must hit for the teaser to win. The main difference between a teaser and a standard parlay is changing the point spread in a teaser to be more favorable. Naturally, this causes more favorable odds for a teaser because you will be altering the point spread in your favor. A commonality is that teasers also need to have at least two legs, which is the requirement for a parlay to be considered a parlay. Below, we will cover how a teaser works, how to place a teaser, advice for beginners, teaser types, and teaser payouts.

How a Teaser Works

To explain how a teaser works further, I will lay out two regular, single-game bets. Then, I’ll show how a teaser differs using a six-point spread on both legs of the teaser. This will be illustrated by implementing a few
Week 1 matchups in the NFL with made-up spreads.

Here is an example of two made-up spreads for the Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans:

Now, with a six-point teaser, both of these underdogs get a wider margin:

In this next example, we will look at what happens to a favorite with a six-point teaser. Here are the initial made-up spreads:

Now, with a six-point spread teaser on the favorites, the games would look like this:

The last example that I could illustrate would be what would happen if you teased through zero and a favorite went to an underdog. Don’t do this. Teasing through zero is not a good idea because football and basketball are not designed to end in ties, and therefore, you would lose an entire point between -0.5 and +0.5. Occasionally, an NFL game will end in a tie, but that’s relatively rare.

Placing a Teaser

There are two ways to place teasers: one way is online, and the other is in person. While both are viable ways to place a teaser, online can seem a little more straightforward, especially to the newer bettor. Most online sportsbooks will provide a variety of betting options, often including teasers. To place a teaser online, simply find the different betting types and click on the teaser betting option. Then, you will find a few games/bets that you like and add them to your slip. Once you do it a few times, it will become effortless in the future. Placing a teaser in person at a casino can be a bit more daunting, depending on what casino and your comfortability level. Most casinos use teaser cards that have fixed totals and point spreads. Some sportsbooks use “live lines,” which can change pretty quickly and can potentially throw you off if you aren’t prepared for it. If this is the case, the ticket writer will make sure and confirm the line change with you, so you won’t have to worry about being surprised or shocked after the fact.

Teaser Types

Teasers can be a combination of a lot of different point spread and team variations. Since teasers share many similarities to parlays, there is a substantial number of options that you can choose. Teasers can be anywhere between two teams and ten teams usually, and because of the point spread variations available, you have plenty of options at your disposal.

Teasers: Advice for Beginners

Football and basketball, which are the two common sports to tease, cannot end in ties for the most part. In the NFL, the game can technically end in a tie, although it is rarer since overtime exists. For that reason, don’t tease through zero (i.e., teasing +3 to -3).

For the NFL, make sure that you tease over crucial numbers like 3 and 7 because those numbers are often the scoring differential in many games.

Understand the key numbers for teasers in the NFL. The numbers 3, 6, 7, 10, and 14 are often considered to be the ones you will want to cross over to give you the most significant advantage.

Teaser Payouts

As mentioned earlier, teasers yield less than a regular parlay because you are much more likely to hit a teaser with a multi-point spread to your benefit. Teasers are likely to pay much more similar to a single-game bet (in the -110 range). Remember, the more points you tease, the less the payout will be. That means if you tease seven points instead of six, your payout will be slightly less. Sometimes, it could make the difference between a teaser hitting or not, so choose your point spread wisely.

Teaser Summary

Teasers can be a great way to put together a string of games that you would feel confident in with an additional point spread. You can tease up or down, but each leg of your teaser has to be the same amount of points, which is usually between six and ten. Your payout will be less than a traditional parlay because you are altering lines in your favor. While different from conventional parlays, teasers still embody the spirit of a conventional parlay with the “all-or-none” payout. Never cross through zero on a teaser as you give away a point since football and basketball are not sports designed to end in a tie. Remember that if you utilize a teaser, especially for the NFL, always cross over at least the numbers 3 and 7. Additional key numbers include 6, 10, and 14. These numbers have a higher likelihood of being scoring differentials at the end of the game than other less relevant numbers like 2, 5, 11, or 12 because the NFL scores scarcely end in differentials like that. In conclusion, teasers are a solid way to expand your betting arsenal and explore different ways to place bets.

Parlay FAQ

• Are teasers available for every sport?
• How is a teaser like a parlay?
• Are there different point-spreads for teasers?
• Can the point spread vary per game in my teaser?
• Do teasers pay out the same amount as parlays?