What Is Teaser Betting And How Does It Work?

Teaser bets can be a fun avenue for football and basketball bettors looking for a little cushion on point spreads or totals.

This article answers the questions "What is a teaser bet?" and "How does a teaser bet work?" while outlining suggestions for how to approach teasers, how teasers have changed over the years, and which sportsbooks offer the best teaser odds. We think you'll find some helpful nuggets regardless of whether or not your sports betting repertoire already includes teasers.

What Is A Teaser Bet?

A teaser bet is a type of football or basketball wager that requires 2+ legs (similar to a parlay) and allows the bettor to manipulate a point spread or total a specific amount of points in the direction of their choosing. Teasers are generally considered much "safer" and easier to win compared to parlays, but teaser payouts are much less lucrative as well (more on that below).

Game #1	Moneyline	Point Spread	Total (O/U)
Dallas Cowboys	+275	+6.5 (-110)	46.5 (-110)
Philadelphia Eagles	-340	-6.5 (-110)	46.5 (-110)

Game #2	Moneyline	Point Spread	Total (O/U)
Kansas City Chiefs	-144	-2.5 (-110)	45.5 (-110)
L.A. Chargers	+122	+2.5 (-110)	45.5 (-110)

Using the games above as an example, below are examples of 2-team, 6-point teasers:

Cowboys +12.5 & Chargers +8.5
Eagles -0.5 & Chargers +8.5
Eagles -0.5 & Over 46.5 in PHI-DAL
Under 52.5 in PHI-DAL & Over 39.5 in LAC-KC

All of the hypothetical teasers above would pay the same fixed amount of money, depending on the teaser odds offered by your sportsbooks. Keep in mind that while 6-point teasers are the most popular forms of NFL teasers, many sportsbooks offer teasers of 6.5 points, 7 points, or even 10+ points. Of course, the more points you use in your teaser, the less it pays out. The more legs in your teaser, the more it pays out.

Below are examples of potential 10-point teasers using the NFL games above. If you made these wagers at the same sportsbook, they'd all pay the same amount.

Eagles +3.5 & Chiefs +7.5 points
Chiefs +7.5 points & Under 55.5 in LAC-KC
Over 36.5 in DAL-PHI & Over 45.5 in LAC-KC
Cowboys +16.5 & Chargers +12.5

NFL Teaser Odds

When betting NFL teasers, different sportsbooks will allow different types of teasers. The most popular NFL teaser is the 2-team, 6-point (2T, 6P) wager (like in the examples above). Below is a chart of 2T, 6P teaser prices from the best sportsbooks in the industry for those wondering which sportsbooks offer the best teaser prices.

Sportsbook	2T, 6P Price	Teaser Points Allowed	Reverse Teasers
bet365	-120	4-7 (.5 pt increments), 10 points	No
Bet99 (Canada)	-115	6, 6.5, 7, 10 points	No
BetMGM	-130	6-14 points (.5 pt increments)	No
Caesars	-125	6, 6.5, 7 points	No
DraftKings	-135	6, 6.5, 7 points	No
FanDuel	-134	3-12 points (.5 pt. increments)	Yes
Hard Rock Bet	-125	6, 7, 8, 10 points	No
Sports Interaction (Canada)	-130	6-14 points (.5 pt. increments)	No

The internet is full of teaser odds calculators, but the tool is pretty moot these days since each sportsbook has its own unique fixed odds. A teaser calculator could help you make sure you're getting a fair price, but you can also do that simply by shopping around or viewing the charts on this page. If you decide to shop around for a new book, don't miss out on our Best Welcome Bonus and Promotions Page.

Reverse teasers

Reverse teasers aren't offered by most sportsbooks, but they're available at FanDuel. Instead of adding points to a spread in a direction that makes your bet easier to win, you add points in a direction that makes wagers harder to win. These bets are a lot tougher to cash, but they pay extremely well if they do. Using our Eagles-Cowboys and Chargers-Chiefs games above, an example of a reverse teaser would be: Eagles -12.5 & Chiefs -8.5 (+700).

6-point reverse teasers Odds at FanDuel

	-6 Point Reverse Teasers	-6.5 Point Reverse Teasers	-7 Point Reverse Teasers
2-Legs	+700	+750	+900
3-Legs	+2200	+2500	+2800
4-Legs	+6600	+7000	+10000

NFL Teaser odds for different-sized teasers

So far, this article has only touched on 2T, 6P teasers, but you'll see how the teaser odds at BetMGM change as you add and remove teaser legs and adjust the teaser point totals in the chart below.

	6-point	6.5-points	7-points	10-points
2-Legs	-130	-140	-150	-210
3-Legs	+160	+140	+120	-145
4-Legs	+250	+200	+180	+100
5-Legs	+400	+350	+300	+140
6-Legs	+600	+500	+400	+190

NBA Teasers

Don't worry, hoops fans, teasers aren't just for the gridiron. However, it's important to know that NBA teasers are much less popular and generally regarded by professional bettors as providing less expected value than NFL teasers. The most common types of basketball teaser bets involve selecting two or three teams and teasing (aka adjusting) the spread by 4, 4.5 or 5 points. You can also tease NBA totals, but we discourage this because the totals are so high that you end up losing value on your bet.

Like with NFL teaser odds, each sportsbook has its own set of payouts depending on the size and teaser points used for your NBA parlays. A $100 teaser on this three-team, 5-point teaser would payout in the neighborhood of $150 in winnings.

College Football & College Basketball Teasers

NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball teasers exist, though they're far less popular than NFL teasers and for good reason. There is less value in collegiate teasers compared to their professional counterparts because college sports tend to be more volatile, with crazier point spreads introducing more variance.

Keep in mind that some sportsbooks have different teaser odds for NCAA football compared to the NFL or the NBA compared to college basketball.

Teaser Betting History

You used to be able to get teasers at much better prices than are available today, but Las Vegas sportsbooks started losing profits after teaser sports betting guru and author Stanford Wong (that's a pseudonym) released his book Sharp Sports Betting in 2001, where he outlined how to get an edge on sportsbooks by betting NFL teasers a certain way.

Wong Teaser Criteria

A home underdog going from +1.5 to +7 or a home favorite going from -8 down to -2 are examples of Wong teaser legs because they meet the following criteria:

A 2-Team, 6-point Teaser using point spreads (never totals)
Tease spreads through the key numbers of 3 and 7
Only in games where there is a low total (under 49)
Both teams must be home teams or road underdogs (not road favorites)

What happens if a Teaser Leg ties?

Every sportsbook has different house rules, and we encourage you to look at them before making a teaser bet since different books handle ties differently.

The most common way teaser ties are handled is as follows:

If your teaser was 3+ legs and one leg ties, the teaser reverts to a smaller teaser
- In other words, a 4-leg teaser becomes a 3-leg teaser, or a 3-legger turns into a 2-leg teaser
If a 2-leg teaser has a tie and a win, then the bet pushes
If a 2-leg teaser has a tie and a loss, then the bet loses

Believe it or not, there are Las Vegas sportsbooks that will refund your money and consider it a "push" when one leg loses and one leg ties. How many people out there have thrown away tickets that they thought were losers, but could have actually gotten their original stake back? Again, the lesson here is: "Read the house rules."

Basic NFL Teaser Strategy

The specific "Wong Teaser" betting strategy is still used today, though it lost most of its edge after casinos raised teaser odds. Below are some general teaser betting strategies universally recommended by professional bettors. You might appreciate our review of sports pick service providers if you're looking for help identifying games to target for teaser legs.

Tease Through Key Numbers

The reason that Stanford Wong recommended teasing through the key numbers of 3 and 7 is that, mathematically, those are the two most common margins of victory in the NFL. Therefore, you are increasing the likelihood that your teaser will hit when you tease through those numbers. Keep in mind that there are key numbers with NFL totals as well (43, 47, and 51) if you choose to tease totals.

Don't Tease Through Zero

Teasing through zero sucks a lot of the value from your teaser bet. For instance, if the 49ers are favored by -4.5 and you tease them down to +1.5, you are going "through zero." You are far less likely to win teaser legs that tease through zero. Especially when compared to those that do not and go through key numbers instead.

Stick to 2-Team Teasers

When you're building a teaser, it's easy to get carried away and start thinking things like, "There's no way the Cowboys could lose by more than +12.5 points, I might as well throw them into this teaser too." A punt return for a touchdown later, and you're regretting adding that extra leg. The value that remains in teasers is in the 2-leg variety and on point spreads, just like Stanford Wong told us.