How Does a Teaser Bet Work?

Beyond standard gambling, teaser bets allow players to adjust lines on point spreads and game totals to give them better odds. Players can buy points and must pair at least two bets together. The most basic teasers are two-team teasers offering seven points on sides and five points on totals. Players can add seven points to an underdog or subtract seven from the favorite. They can add or subtract five points from the total.  

Standard teasers and many more

A football teaser generally involves three key numbers – 6, 6.5 and 7. You can choose to move an underdog’s odds higher and push the favorite line lower. A two-team 6.5-point NFL teaser bet would be as follows: You select Dallas Cowboys +3 and Pittsburgh Steelers -4.5. In a 6.5-point teaser, these would become Cowboys +9.5 and Steelers +2. Every sportsbook has its own payouts and rules for teaser bets. Full payout rules are usually available on the sportsbook website. 

Bookmakers offer teasers of many different kinds and they are generally available in sports like football and basketball. Hockey and baseball typically don’t have teaser options as the odds on these sports are set with lower numbers. Parx Casino offers teaser bets, and you can use a sports betting app to place your bets online. 

Better odds but lower payouts

If you are interested in a big payday, teasers aren’t the best option as they tend to have lower payouts than when placing each bet separately. However, they do shift the odds in your favor. When doing some online football betting, it is best to look for underdogs in the +5 to +2.5 range and favorites in the -7.5 range for 7 point teasers. 

Are teasers sensible wagers?

As with parlays, the more teams you add to a teaser, the worse odds you generally face. The chances of two teams covering are obviously better than three or four. The odds are also worse the more points you use in a teaser. As many teaser cards use half points, this eliminates the chance of a push. Each teaser selection on teaser parlays must usually win outright to cash a winning ticket. 

You may believe in luck and keep going with the flow, but the best strategy for winning a teaser is to limit the number of games involved. Limiting teasers to two or three selections offers more chance of winning.