Teaser Bets
A teaser bet is designed to be just that - a tease. Put simply, it is a modified accumulator bet. For those unfamiliar with an accumulator, it is a type of wager that is made up of multiple individual bets. A punter chooses two or more teams that are playing in separate events to bet on and wins if each of the individual bets is correct. One of the most common examples of accumulators is betting on the results of a number of football fixtures on a Saturday afternoon.
What is a teaser bet?
The difference with a teaser is that you can adjust the points spread or the game points total for the matches in your favour, so as to increase the chances of winning.
By moving the point spread in your favour, you will be forced to place your bet at lower odds than originally specified - but it is a hit most punters are willing to take.
How teasers are displayed
The teams to be wagered on will be shown with their given point spread or totals. A point spread is usually identified by a number such as +3 or -3, while a total will normally have a larger number like +35. Be aware that the positive indicator means that the team must lose by two points or fewer and the total of 35 means that the points scored in the fixture has to be 34 or fewer.
The bookmaker makes a selection of point teasers available - normally in the range of 6, 6.5, 7 and 9.5 points. Point teasers with halves are very common.
Example of a teaser
Most teasers bets are placed on American football - this type of wager suits the sport, since the point spread is the domain of American football punters. Teasers are normally available on between two and 15 teams. You can add or subtract a specific amount of points to the teams you choose to give yourself a better chance of winning the overall accumulator.
Standard point spread bet offered:
Leg 1 in the accumulator: Washington Redskins (-3pts) 10/11 v Green Bay Packers (+3pts) 10/11
Leg 2 in the accumulator: New England Patriots (-6.5pts) 10/11 v Dallas Cowboys (+6.5pts) 10/11
You choose to bet on Washington Redskins and New England Patriots and have taken the standard point spreads. They are standard because they are designed to make the games even in terms of betting probability.
However, you may wish to make that point spread more advantageous to your team by creating a teaser bet. You decide to change the point spread on Washington Redskins to +1pt; instead of having to overcome a three-point disadvantage, they will now begin the game with a one-point advantage. But because you have made the task easier, the odds have reduced to 4/9.
We can also tease the second leg by giving the Patriots a four-point advantage over the standard odds on offer, again at a price though. So now, if both legs of our accumulator do win, the return will be £2.07 off a £1 stake.
Another popular way of using teasers is to make two bets on one game - the first bet being that a side wins or loses by a certain amount of points (as above) and the second being on a total points score. You can purchase a number of teaser points to add to each individual bet.
Basic strategy teasers
In the NFL, a high percentage of games land on the numbers 3 and 7. Therefore it is generally profitable to bring the spread up or down to capture both of these key numbers. However, a lot of bookmakers are aware of this strategy and try to limit it by dealing teaser lines which do not allow this bet.
Advantages of a teaser bet
With teaser bets, the spread can be moved into your favour and you can decide how many points you want to use. You also have the freedom to decide on which market you want to use the points.
However, there are lower returns with teaser bets and the bookmaker chooses the games for you. If you`re after a big payday, accumulators are probably a better bet for you. However, if you are seeking a `sure thing`, then teaser bets may be the way to go and they can be pretty profitable if you know how to use them.
