What are Teasers in Sports Betting?

You’ve probably seen the term teasers used on betting sites before, but what are they? Put simply, teasers in sports betting are a type of parlay bet. They allow you to alter the point spread in your favour, in exchange for lowered odds.

Some bettors are happy to take this trade-off, while others prefer the challenge of a more difficult parlay bet, in exchange for a greater return. We’re going to look at the intricacies of how betting teasers work, as well as if teasers are good bets, and a fully worked out example.

How Does a Teaser Bet Work?  

Now that we know roughly what teasers are in sports betting, it’s time to dive into what makes them unique and different from a standard parlay bet. Below are all the ways that teasers in sports betting differ from other bet types.

Betting Selection

You make your bet just like a parlay, with only the following differences. Teaser bets must contain only bets that are point spread bets or over/under bets (also known as totals). This ensures that you can alter the number on all legs of the bet. You need to have at least two legs to your teaser bet.

Adjusting Points and Lines

Once you’ve made your selections you get to adjust the point spread or totals according to the rules laid out by the sportsbook. For most teasers in sports betting, you get 6 points to play with, which you can add or subtract from the spread or total however you’d like.

How Winning a Teaser Works

All of the bets in your teaser are combined into one. All of the selections must win in order for the bet to be paid out at the advertised odds. If there’s a tie then the bet pushes meaning you have your stake refunded and the bet is void.

Speaking of payouts, you’ll notice that the payout from a teaser bet is much lower than the payout from a parlay with the same selections. This is because the sportsbook has allowed you to take a lower risk, by adjusting the spread or total points in your favour.

Example of an NFL Teaser 

Now you know how to bet teasers at your favourite sites, it’s time to take a look into how teasers work in this NFL betting example.

The Detroit Lions are playing the Green Bay Packers and your sportsbook has set the point spread at +9.5 for the Lions to cover.

On the same day, the Sanfransisco 49ers are playing the Indianapolis Colts, with the point spread set at +7 for the 49ers to cover.

You are pretty sure that both of these favoured teams will win, but maybe not by those margins. The sportsbook has a 6 point teaser bet available on the two teams. So, you take it and adjust the point spread to +3.5 for the Lions and +1 for the 49ers.

As you can see, this makes the bet much easier to win and, as such, you’d receive much lower odds than with a traditional parlay. It’s up to you to decide if this greatly increased chance of winning is worth taking the lower odds.