Types of Sports Bets: Teaser Bets
Many players like to reduce the risk in a parlay bet by making a teaser bet. A teaser bet is a parlay, or combination, bet placed on pointspreads and/or totals in American Football and basketball only, with the pointspread and/or total adjusted, or "teased", to give the bettor a greater chance of winning. Consider the example below:
In this example, the bettor has chosen the New York Giants at +9.0 and a total of Under 45 points. This means that, for the bet to win, the New York Giants must either beat Buffalo or not lose by more than nine points, and the total points scored in the game must be under 45. If both these selections are correct, the bet wins and pays out $36.10 on every $10 wagered.
But suppose the bettor wants to give him or herself a better chance of winning, even at a reduced payout? He or she may then chose a 6, 6.5 or 7 point teaser to give the bet a better chance to win. Let's say he or she chooses the 6 point teaser, and clicks the 6 point teaser option in the betcard.
What has happened is that the bettor now has six more points added to the spread and the total that he or she has to beat for his or her bet to be successful. Instead of New York having to come within 9 points of Buffalo, they now have a 15 point margin of error. Instead of the total points scored in the game having to be 45 points, it’s now 51 points.
In each case, the number that the bettor has to beat has been increased, or "teased" by 6 points because the bettor chose a 6 point parlay. If the bettor chose a 6.5 or 7 point parlay, the numbers would be adjusted by 6.5 or 7 accordingly.
The payout on the teaser bet is reduced to appropriately reflect the bettor’s increased chance of winning.