Teaser Betting Guide

A teaser is a type of parlay bet. You will need to select at least two games to qualify for a teaser, and the number of points you can move the spread or total by is generally determined by the site you’re using. 

In a teaser, you can move the spread to give the underdog a better shot to cover, or move it in the other direction to make it easier for the favorite to cover the adjusted spread.

Most US sportsbooks offer teaser bets. A teaser lets you combine multiple point spread betting selections in one bet. 

For the teaser to win, every leg of the bet must be successful. Point spreads can be great fun if you’re a savvy gambler. 

However, why settle for the sportsbook’s spread when you can pick your own and get better odds?

Point Spread Teasers

Let’s start by explaining how odds work in the point spread. A point spread is a handicap bet where one team (the favorite) is given a theoretical points deduction before the game starts. The other team (the underdog) is given equal points as a head start.

For example, imagine the Cleveland Browns are playing the New England Patriots. The spread is listed as follows:

• Cleveland Browns +3 (-110)
• New England Patriots -3 (-110)

The Browns are slight underdogs on the moneyline, but with a 3-point head start on the spread, the bet on them becomes more balanced, with both sides typically priced around -110. If the score finishes 42-40 to the Patriots, and you had bet on the Browns on the spread, you would have won as they would have ended with a theoretical total of 43 (40 + 3).

Now, imagine you want to increase your cushion even further—this is where a teaser comes into play.

With a 6-point teaser, you add 6 points to the Browns’ original spread, giving you Browns +9 (3 + 6). That means your bet covers if the Browns win or lose by 8 points or fewer. A 9-point loss would be a push—more on that later. 

If the Patriots win 43-40, your teased Browns score would be 49 (40 + 9), so your bet on the Browns against the adjusted spread wins. Teaser bets typically pay around -110 odds per leg, balancing risk and reward. Remember, in this scenario, your teaser bet must be paired with at least one other game, and you would need to pick that game correctly to collect.

Totals Teasers

With totals (over/unders), teaser bets work similarly. For example, if two games had totals of 48 and 35, you could take the under and push the total up to 54 in the first game, take the over, and reduce the total to 29 in the second game with a 6-point teaser.

A teaser bet can sometimes end in a tie. For instance, one of our teams may hit the spread on the nail. If this happens, the leg will result in a “push.” The leg is removed from the bet, and the sportsbook will recalculate the payout based on your remaining parlay legs.

It’s important to check the sportsbook’s terms and conditions. Some betting apps will scrap the leg and honor the remaining legs. However, some sportsbooks will void the entire wager.

• Football: Probably the most popular sport for teaser bets. Most casual bettors will cover teasers in NFL games, and all football sportsbooks will offer a range of odds.
• Basketball: Teaser spreads are smaller in basketball and normally cover from 4 to 10 points. You can also back up to 10 teams in your teaser parlay.
• College Sports: Be mindful of the rules in your state. Some legal sports betting states allow betting on college basketball and college football, but don’t allow prop betting or betting on in-state teams. 

Teaser betting is not normally offered on MLB baseball, NHL hockey, or soccer. This is due to the small point spreads (run line) available on MLB games and the close scores in the NHL and soccer.

However, you can often find handicap betting on soccer games where one or both teams will be given a +1.5/-1.5 goal handicap first. You can combine handicap bets in a single parlay, plus you’ll have the option to pick handicaps as wide as -2.5/+2.5.

You can also add a massive 10 or 13 points to the spread.

You can typically bet teasers on football and basketball. Sportsbooks usually provide football teasers at 6, 6.5, and 7 points for NFL games.

Teaser odds, which determine both the payout and the risk associated with adjusting the line in your favor, vary between betting sites, so it’s a good idea to open multiple accounts and compare odds to find the best value.

That said, the standard odds for a 2-team teaser are -120, a fixed price based on legs and points regardless of which teams you include. The more teams you choose, the longer the odds. 

Here is a breakdown of the common teaser odds depending on the point spread advantage and how many teams you include in your parlay: 

In some circumstances, a point teaser bet can be a great wager. The best way to use a point teaser is to give the underdog a big positive points head start.

For instance, the Atlanta Falcons may be no-hopers against the Cowboys on a moneyline bet. However, with a 10 or 13-point advantage, they become a better prospect.

Essentially, teaser betting is all about turning a marginal outcome into a profitable one. If the underdog has a +2.5-point spread, it’s always better to tease the spread to +7 or +7.5. The payouts are lower, but you are giving yourself a better chance of getting one.

You can use some basic strategies to find the top teaser odds. Wong Teasers is a term for the most favorable bets, first highlighted in Stanford Wong’s 2001 book, Sharp Sports Betting.

In Wong’s book, he recommended teasing up home underdogs who started with a spread of +1.5 to +2.5. Similarly, he recommended teasing hot home favorites who started at -7.5 to -8.5 points.

The simple reason was that the probability of home teams winning made the teaser bets worth backing.