🦹 Many times we look at betting odds and wish that we could change the point spreads or totals in the opposite direction. What if we told you that teaser sports betting could help you adjust tough lines in your favor?
🌠 Join us as we explore what a teaser sports betting is, how to place a sports betting teaser, and plenty more in this comprehensive guide.
What is Teaser Sports Betting and How Does it Work?
So, what is a teaser sports betting? It is a type of parlay that enables bettors to move or ‘tease' a point spread or total line by a specific number of points in a direction that improves their chances of winning.
🌜 In exchange for these better odds, punters must wager on at least two selections and as many as ten, depending on the sportsbook. That way, there's a greater risk sinceall selections included must hit for the teaser to pay out.
Worth mentioning is that if one pick registers as a draw/push, some US bookmakers may automatically grade it as a loss. Alternatively, others may remove it from the teaser bet and adjust the remaining odds accordingly. In this case, a draw/push in a two-leg teaser results in a ‘no action' if there's no loss, meaning the bookie will refund the bet amount.
ღ Usually, the standard teaser in sports betting allows punters to tease the line anywhere from four to ten points per basketball or football game. Of course, the point size in teaser sports betting varies from book to book.
Some bookmakers offer 10 -13 points for only three, four, or five selections but a smaller potential payout, as in the case of a monster/special/sweetheart teaser. Others offer much fewer points for up to 15 picks for a larger potential return, as is the case for Vegas teasers. Nonetheless, the premise remains the same – exchanging points for value.
🦂 So, if you want to get the most value from your sports wagers, understanding what a sports betting teaser is is crucial. Although it won't necessarily increase your payout, a proven sports betting teaser strategy can help you win more frequently.
Teaser Bet Example
For many, the teaser meaning sports betting may sound a little complicated. But the truth is that it’s a fairly simple wager when you look at it practically. Here’s a real-life example consisting of the most common teaser bet type – a two-team 6-point teaser. We’ll use the 2024 NFL Week 1 odds on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
🧸 Suppose we back the Kansas City Chiefs to win with more than three points and the Philadelphia Eagles to score under 48.5 points.
✅ Given that this is a 6-point teaser, it means that you get an extra six points, adjusting the spread and total line in your wager to KC Chiefs -3 (-3+6) and PHI Eagles U +54.5 (48.5+6). Now, for this teaser bet to win, the Chiefs must win outright or lose the game with less than 3 points. Likewise, the Eagles must score 54 points or less to cover the new line in the under bet.
ꦐ In terms of the potential payout, the DraftKings Bookmaker prices this teaser bet at -120. That means that if you wager $120, you stand a chance to win $100 in profits. But if one of the picks loses, you automatically forfeit $120.
How to Calculate Teaser Bets
🀅 Apart from understanding what a teaser in sports betting is, you should also remember that the price of a teaser bet varies from bookie to bookie. Primarily, they use specific algorithms based on several factors to determine the price of a teaser bet. These factors include:
﷽ The selected sport, which could be football, basketball, or a combination of football/basketball games
The spreads and odds you want to change
The number of teaser points you are getting
The number of selections in the bet
🤪 Provided you know how to read payout odds, calculating the margins from a teaser sports betting wager is as easy as can be. Better yet, most teaser bet odds are in American format, arguably the easiest of all odds formats. For instance, if the total odds from your teaser bet is -110, it simply means wagering $110 gives you a potential return of $100. Alternatively, if the teaser payout odds are +110, a $100 wager will give you a potential payout of $110 plus the original stake.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Teaser Sports Betting
🅺 Below is a quick overview of the benefits and risks of teaser sports betting.
- Enables bettors to manipulate spread and total lines in their favor
- Less risky than traditional point spreads and total lines
- Allows a combination of up to 15 picks in a single bet
- Increased winning chances
- Gives bettors a decent chance to hedge their bets
- Mostly applies to football and basketball games
- Possesses lower odds and lower payouts compared to the conventional point spread and totals bets
- Creates a false sense of security
What is a Reverse Teaser?
🍌 Essentially, you’ll find that if a sportsbook allows you to buy teaser points, it also permits you to sell them. In a scenario where you pick at least two selections in a sports betting teaser and, instead of moving the line in your favor, you adjust it in the opposite direction to give the sportsbook an advantage, this is what we call reverse teasers or pleasers.
🥀 In other words, reverse teasers are the complete opposite of teaser bets. That also applies to the principles observed in teaser bets. Instead of adding points to the spread or total line, you subtract points to adjust the line down. The sweet spot is, since the odds are in favor of the bookmaker, pleasers offer a much bigger payout than standard teasers.
🐎 To better understand this, let’s consider a reverse teaser from FanDuel’s Week 0/1 college football markets. Say you pick a three-team 7-point teaser as follows:
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Florida State (-12.5)/ Georgia Tech (+12.5)
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Montana State (-7.5)/ New Mexico (+7.5)
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SMU Mustangs vs. Nevada o/u 56.5
🦹 Consequently, if you back Georgia Tech, New Mexico, and under 56.5 in the SMU vs. Nevada game in a standard teaser, FanDuel offers payout odds of +150. But if you sell the seven points, the payout odds jump to +2000, and the new lines are as follows:
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𓄧Georgia Tech moves from +12.5 underdogs to +5.5 underdogs
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🀅New Mexico moves from +7.5 underdogs to +0.5 underdogs
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The under margin moves from 56.5 to 49.5 points
𒆙 Similar to a conventional teaser in sports betting, all picks in a reverse teaser must hit for it to pay out. However, sharper markets are more likely to have more accurate handicaps, making reverse teasers an ideal option for college football and college basketball markets instead of the NFL or NBA.
How to Place a Teaser Bet
Not all legal US bookies offer reverse teaser sports betting options, let alone the traditional teaser sports bet. Luckily, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you place a teaser bet. We’ll use the FanDuel Sportsbook as an example.
Teaser Sports Betting Tips & Strategies
ﷺ Despite a teaser in sports betting being a -EV(negative expected value) or a sucker bet type, it doesn’t negate the fact that a sports betting teaser strategy can help you win more frequently than the conventional spread and over/under bet type. Here are a few savvy tips to help you get the most out of your teaser bet:
Never tease through 0
🎉NFL games rarely end in a tie. That’s why many seasoned bettors consider zero a wasted point when adjusting spreads, especially since you don’t get value for it. Nonetheless, moving a line through key numbers in the NFL's game scoring system, like 3, 6, 7, and 10, even if it requires you to tease through 0, has proven successful many times.
Be careful with basketball teasers
༺Compared to the NFL, basketball has a higher scoring system, making it harder to spot value when placing a teaser bet. Further, there are no key numbers like in the NFL.
Avoid teasing college football
♑Owing to the high volatility of collegiate sports, including college football, teasing a spread or total by six or seven points rarely compensates the bettor for the reduced payout.
🍎Try to get -120 or better on six-point, two-team teasers
🌌Ensure that your two-team six-point teaser has odds of -120 or better to balance the risk and reward efficiently. Higher odds like -130 or -140, even if they hit, decrease the expected value over time.
ThePuntersPage Final Say
🌠 Teaser sports betting can be a worthy addition to your online betting arsenal if used appropriately. But are the extra points worth the value? Well, it depends on your betting prowess and risk appetite.
🌟 While teaser bets can land you substantial wins over time, they are still high risk. Nonetheless, if you understand what does teaser mean in sports betting and are confident in your research/picks, teaser sports betting can significantly improve your winning odds when betting online.
FAQs
✨If one of the selections in your teaser pushes, the bookmaker may remove it for the betting slip and adjust the remaining odds accordingly. But if the teaser included only two legs, where one was a push and the other won, the bookie will refund the bet amount. Do note that other bookies may also regard a push in a teaser as a loss.
💦Generally, a teaser payout varies from one bookmaker to the next. However, depending on the points used to tease the line, punters often get a lower return than the amount wagered.
🥂Absolutely! All legal sportsbooks offer teaser sports betting options, especially across their football and basketball markets.
𒉰An open teaser is where you can add more selections to an existing sports betting teaser. However, this is only possible if there’s a pending leg and already concluded legs.
🎐All selections involved in a teaser bet must be correct for a teaser bet to win.
༒Most sportsbooks treat a tie like a push when it comes to teaser sports betting. In other words, the bookmaker may remove the tied leg and grade the bet slip based on the remaining games, or alternatively, the bookie could count it as loss.