How Do Teasers Work
Teasers are one of the more advanced wagers in sports
betting. This is a wager you should definitely learn about
though, even as a beginner, as it provides opportunities to
place relatively low risk wagers which can still provide a good
return.
In this article we explain in detail how teasers work, but we
should point out that you need to already understand a few
things if it’s going to make any sense to you. For one thing you
should know how odds work, because odds are a basic component of
any wager. You should also know how parlays, point spread bets,
and totals bets work.
If you’re not yet familiar with any of these subjects, you
can find what you need to know on the following pages.
Large hookless lures, such as the Bost Blackhead Big Game Teaser, are still in vogue as marlin teasers. A modern twist includes rigging them tandem, 24 to 30 inches apart. Their sheer size enhances their action, heightened when two teasers fight each other. Single and tandem surface teasers are also small-boat friendly. Sports Betting: Teaser Bets and Payouts. By Loot, Sports Handicapper, Lootmeister.com. Teasers are bets where you pick multiple teams. All of them must cover the spread for you to win, but with teasers, you get to move that spread in your favor.
A teaser is a bet that has at least two different teams on it and they all need to win for the bet to be successful. We pick one team. In teasers, you pick at least two teams. The main perk with teasers is that you get to move the point-spread in your favor by pre-determined amounts.
The Basics of Teasers
Teasers are essentially a type of parlay, in that they
involve making multiple selections as part of a single wager.
All selections have to win for the bet to be successful. The
selections included in a teaser must be based on either point
spread bets or totals bets. As such, teasers are typically
available only for football and basketball.
The main feature of teasers is that you are able to move the
spreads or totals lines in your favor, increasing your chances
of winning. Let’s take a look at the betting for an upcoming
football match so we can explain how this works in practice.
As you can see, the Kansas City Chiefs are given 3.5 points
on the spread here. If you were including a point spread bet on
the Chiefs in a parlay, or just making a straight bet on the
spread, you would need them to lose by three points or less (or
win). As a selection in a teaser, however, they would be given
extra points. If you included them in a six point teaser, for
example, they would be given 9.5 points on the spread, meaning
they could lose by up to nine points and the selection would
still be a winner.
The same principle applies if you’re betting on the totals.
The line is set at 46.5 for this match, which means if you went
for the over you would need the total points scored to be 47 or
more. In a six point teaser the line would be moved to 40.5,
which means 41 or more would be good enough. If you went for the
under, the six point swing would be in the other direction, and
the line would move to 52.5.
As you can see, teasers can make it significantly easier to
get your selections right. The downside is that the payouts are
lower than in standard parlays, which we’ll get to later.
Teaser Variables
The main variable with teasers is the number of points that
the spread or totals lines are moved by. With football teasers
you’ll find most bookmakers and online betting sites offer
three options – 6, 6.5, and 7 points. With basketball the three
options are usually 4, 4.5, and 5 points. These aren’t set in
stone though, and some places will offer even more flexibility.
Another variable is the number of selections you include in a
teaser. With most bookmakers, online and offline, the minimum
allowed is two and the maximum allowed is ten. This isn’t
always the case though. Some places may require more than two
selections or allow more than ten.
The payouts for teasers also vary. The more the spreads and
lines are moved in your favor, the lower the payouts will be. So
a 7 point football teaser will have lower payouts than a 6 point
football teaser. Payouts also change based on the number of
selections, as they do with a standard parlay. The more
selections included, the higher potential payouts. Remember,
though, that including more selections also increases the
chances of one or more of them losing.
Example Payouts
The following charts show some example payouts based on the
number of points and the number of selections. Please note that
the payouts for teasers won’t always be exactly the same with
every bookmaker and sports betting site, but the examples here
provide a good guide.
| Football Teaser Payouts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # of Selections | Payout Odds (6.0 Points) | Payout Odds (6.5 Points) | Payout Odds (7.0 Points) |
| 2 | 10/11 | 10/12 | 10/13 |
| 3 | 9/5 | 8/5 | 7/5 |
| 4 | 3/1 | 5/2 | 2/1 |
| 5 | 9/2 | 4/1 | 7/2 |
| 6 | 6/1 | 11/2 | 5/1 |
| 7 | 10/1 | 9/1 | 8/1 |
| 8 | 15/1 | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| 9 | 20/1 | 15/1 | 12/1 |
| 10 | 25/1 | 20/1 | 15/1 |
| Basketball Teaser Payouts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| # of Selections | Payout Odds (4.0 Points) | Payout Odds (4.5 Points) | Payout Odds (5.0 Points) |
| 2 | 1/1 | 10/12 | 10/13 |
| 3 | 9/5 | 8/5 | 7/5 |
| 4 | 3/1 | 5/2 | 2/1 |
| 5 | 9/2 | 4/1 | 7/2 |
| 6 | 6/1 | 11/2 | 5/1 |
| 7 | 10/1 | 9/1 | 8/1 |
| 8 | 15/1 | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| 9 | 20/1 | 15/1 | 12/1 |
| 10 | 25/1 | 20/1 | 15/1 |
Teaser Example
To further illustrate exactly how teasers work, we’ll look at
an example teaser based on the following three football matches.
Let’s assume you decide to place a three team, six point
teaser, for a stake of $50. You select the Kansas City Chiefs,
the Dallas Cowboys, and the Atlanta Falcons on the spread. You
would need the following three results to win this teaser.
- Kansas City Chiefs to win, or lose by nine points or
less. - Dallas Cowboys to win, or lose by less than nine points.
A nine point loss would be a push. - Atlanta Falcons to win, or lose by a single point. A two
point loss would be a push.
If all three results came in, then you would win $90 based on
odds of 9/5. You’d also get your stake back of course. If just
one result went the wrong way, you would lose your $50 stake.
How Do Teaser Reels Work
You can see that a push is a possibility in two of the games.
The rules relating to pushes varies at different bookmakers and
betting sites, but what generally happens is that a push means
that selection is effectively removed from the wager. If the
Cowboys lost by exactly nine points, for example, then that
selection wouldn’t count anymore. You’d be left with a two team
teaser. If the other two results came in, then you would win at
reduced odds of 10/11.
Now that you understand how teasers work, you might want to
learn how best to use them to your advantage. We can help you
with this, because we have provided a strategy article with advice on
football teasers.
A teaser is a sports bet that is similar to placing a parlay bet. Both types of wagers are made by selecting two or more events to occur. Like a traditional parlay, each event selected for a teaser must win in order for the player to win to win the bet.
All multi-event wagers have the potential for larger wins but teasers don’t pay as much as a parlay. The attraction to teasers might be that they appear easier to win.
The main item that separates a teaser from a traditional parlay is that a bettor may alter point spreads and over/under totals between 4 and 10 points depending on the sport and teaser. Changing the point spread and point total make the wagers appear to be easier to win.
Winning multiple bets, no matter the point spread is never easy. However, the adjusted lines should help bettors find a little more confidence in their bets. The payout from the sportsbook for a teaser is lower than a parlay since these are anecdotally easier to win.
How a teaser works
A teaser isn’t too difficult to understand after seeing how the point moving works. The easiest way to comprehend a teaser is to see an example. For simplicity, we’ll use a six-point teaser for football games:
Original wager options:
- New England Patriots +3 (-110) at Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Rams +3 (even) at New Orleans Saints
A two-team six-point teaser on the underdogs would change the point spreads to the following:
- New England Patriots +9 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Rams +9 at New Orleans Saints
A two-team six-point teaser on the favorites would change the point spreads to the following:
- New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs +3
- Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints +3
A $10 parlay with the original point spreads would pay approximately $27.70. A $10 six-point teaser would pay $8.35. The same teaser will pay less if the point spreads or totals are teased by 6.5 or 7 points.
The process for selecting totals on a teaser is similar.
All sportsbooks offer a variety of teaser cards for football season. Football games can be teased by 6, 6.5, or 7 points. Some casinos offer 10 point teasers but only for a total of three sides and/or totals.
Sportsbooks offer teasers for basketball as well. However, they offer fewer basketball teaser cards than football. Basketball games can be teased by 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, or 6 points.
Placing a teaser in person
A teaser in a land-based casino can be done in two ways. A player simply can tell the ticket writer how much they’d like to wager, how many points they’d like to tease and the point spread and totals that they would like to tease. It’s rare to see a person bet a teaser in person like this.
The in-person process can be confusing and time-consuming. Most teaser bets in land-based casinos are placed using a teaser card. Filling out a card in advance of visiting the sportsbook desk is a quick way to complete the transaction since all of the information is already filled in.
Casinos offer a variety of parlay and teaser cards. Make sure to read the rules and payout before choosing a card.
Betting teaser cards
Casino operators have different computer systems for parlays and teasers so the process might be different at certain casinos. Most teaser cards have fixed point spreads and Over/Under totals. In this case, the information on the card won’t change when a teaser bet is placed.
Some sportsbook operators might use a “live line” even though a teaser card lists a specific line from the morning. This allows the casino to change the point spread or point total based on what the current line is when the teaser is placed.
The ticket writer will ask the player if they’re okay with the changes before finalizing the bet. This process can be intimidating for new bettors when a sportsbook is busy and the lines are long. Bettors don’t have to accept the new lines and shouldn’t be afraid to decline the line changes.
Placing a teaser at an online sportsbook
Placing a teaser at an online sportsbook might be the easiest way to make this kind of wager. A teaser can be made simply by selecting the teams and totals, selecting “teaser,” and choose how many points to tease.
Online teaser cards make the process even more simple. The teaser card will show the adjusted point spreads and totals for each card. The player simply chooses between two and eight sides or totals then selects how much they’d like to wager. Just enter “submit” and confirm the bet. That’s all it takes to bet a teaser online.
Teaser Payouts
How Do Brain Teasers Work
Once a bet is placed, the odds paid remain fixed no matter what computer system a sportsbook uses. Teaser payouts are smaller than traditional parlays.
For example, a two-team point spread parlay might pay 2 to 1 odds if both events are winners for the player. Meanwhile, a two-team teaser might pay -110 if both events are winners.
How Do Brain Teasers Work
The more points used to tease lines, the less the payout will be. A six-point teaser might return 10-11, while a 6.5-point teaser only returns 10-12, and a seven-point teaser returns 10-13.
How Do Teaser Odds Work
Actual pay schedules vary by teaser type and sportsbook. Check the pay schedule before placing a teaser or any other bet.