Sports betting has a variety of options available for punters. You can place a single bet, or you can combine multiple wagers into a parlay. When wagering on the point spread, bettors can choose to buy points and move the line to make it easier, although this comes with a smaller payout. A teaser bet shares similarities with both cases mentioned.
What is a teaser bet? Bookmakers offer teasers as separate bets from parlays. While they are both similar in the sense that all legs must win for the bet to be successful, a teaser bet combines multiple spreads into one bet while also allowing you to move the line. Of course, that also comes with a price, as it will decrease your payout.
Are teaser bets worth it? We will now take a better look at how they work and the best way to make use of them.
Teaser Bet Explained
Before we move on to teaser bets, let’s recap a few things about parlay bets and point spread bets. In a parlay, hitting one single bet isn’t enough for you to win; all legs must go through. If a single one loses, that’s it – your parlay also loses.
Point spread bets establish a negative handicap for the favorite and a positive handicap for the underdog. In order to cover the spread, the underdog has to lose by a margin smaller than its handicap, or simply win the match. The favorite covers the spread if it wins by a margin large enough to cover the bookmaker’s line. You can also buy points in a spread to move the line and create a new one that’s easier to cover.
Why must we recap parlay bets, point spread bets and buying points in betting before getting started with teaser bets? As you will see, teaser bets also share some similarities with those.
A teaser bet allows you to combine multiple point spread bets into one wager. However, it also allows you to move the line in all games, albeit at the cost of a smaller payout.
Teasers in sports betting are far more common in football, more specifically in the NFL, compared to other sports and professional leagues. Why is that? Teaser bets usually move the line by 6 points, which is the equivalent of a touchdown (not including the PAT or a two-point conversion).
Since score margins in the NFL tend to be relatively close, moving the line by 6 points makes a big difference. Bookmakers usually offer teaser bets in basketball as well, but since winning margins tend to fluctuate a lot in the sport, teasers usually aren’t worth it. That’s also the case for college football, which usually has some rather elastic scorelines.
You can also place teaser bets on points totals and over/under, although buying 6 whole points is an exaggeration. In this case, you are usually better off taking the lines offered by the bookmaker.
Teaser Bet Tips
What is the best way to make a teaser bet, and how to get the most value out of it? Here are some useful tips.
🔵 Teaser bets were made popular by Stanford Wong in the book Sharp Sports Betting. Wong proved that, by moving the line 6 points in the -7.5 to -8.5 range for the favorite and +1.5 to +2.5 range for the underdog, punters usually won 75% of the bets while also cashing in a worthy payout. That’s because, in football, 3 and 7 are considered key numbers: 3 for a field goal and 7 for a touchdown, plus the point after. These are the two most common winning margins in NFL games. In a Wong Teaser, the new lines would then become -1.5 or -2.5 for the favorites and +7.5 or +8.5 for the underdogs, making them much more manageable. Over time, sportsbooks began taking notice of the Wong Teaser, and now usually try to stay away from these ranges. It’s worth taking a chance if you do find these numbers.
🔵 While teaser bets are also available in other sports and leagues, you should not consider them outside of NFL games. In basketball, winning margins aren’t as consistent: while some games may be decided by a single possession, others may go well into double digits. It’s the same for college football. In other words, moving the line wouldn’t make much of a difference; you would still place a high risk bet at a much smaller payout – going against the very basics of sports betting.
🔵 The same applies to the betting markets available for teaser bets. Point spreads are the only betting market in which teaser bets are viable. Bookmakers allow you to place teaser bets on points total as well, for example. But moving the total by 6 points is a bit excessive. Once again, it would be taking a high risk (requiring all legs to win) at a smaller payout when compared to the original lines provided by the operator.
Also Learn About How to Understand Betting Scores and Odds
Teaser Bet Examples
Pros vs Cons of Teaser Bets
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Summary
Most bettors will ask themselves: are teaser bets good or not? As you can see, they can be an alternative, although somewhat limited. If you are into NFL betting, then it can be worth calculating whether a teaser is worth it or not heading into the week. Depending on the situation, you might actually find a chance to place a teaser. But remember that teasers should be avoided outside of NFL point spread bets. While moving the line by a lot looks tempting, remember that it comes at a steep cost.
