As sports betting descends upon Virginia, you'll be bombarded with a ton of new lingo that's part of the sportsbook lexicon. One of the more unconventional terms you might see is the 'teaser' bet.
- Simply explained, a teaser bet is a form of parlay bet that focuses on using modified point spreads for profitability in sporting events—such as the NFL and NBA—that allow for ATS betting. In the NBA betting lines, for example, you may find three bets as follows; Chicago Bulls -7.5, Detroit Pistons +1.5, and Los Angeles Lakers +5.5.
- Parlays and teasers are a great way to mix things up by betting on multiple games and outcomes at one time. Betting on single games is a reliable way to grow your bankroll with some basic sports betting strategy, but these ‘multi bets' offer huge potential to increase your winnings when you're supremely confident in more than one pick.
Teasers are one of the most common wagering variants - as opposed to the straight bets that make up the majority of sports betting. Basically, if someone is betting something other than the spread, the moneyline or the Over/Under, it's pretty likely to be a teaser.
Teasers can be very good things for sports bettors — particularly if you plan on parlay betting. On this page we'll explain what a teaser bet is, show you how teasers work, and also what you can do to take advantage of a teaser bet when it pops up at online sportsbook in Virginia.
What's a teaser in betting?
A teaser is an easier-to-win form of a parlay bet where the sportsbook allows you to adjust the published odds in your favor.
To not get ahead of ourselves, let's define what a parlay is. A parlay is a combination bet that combines several individual bets into one single bet. Each one of the individual bets inside a parlay is known as a 'leg.' As you add more legs to a parlay, the payout potential increases dramatically.
However, there's a catch to parlays. Parlays require you to select every single leg correctly. Even one mistake causes a parlay bet to fail.
A teaser bet is no different from a parlay bet in terms of its function. You still select multiple legs to occupy a single bet, and you must get every single one correct for the teaser to pay off. But because you're allowed to adjust the underlying spread or total in each of your legs, it becomes easier to achieve perfection in a teaser.
That ability to move the lines in your favor means reduced payouts if you win, however.
How does a teaser bet work?
Adjusting given odds at a sportsbook is not something that just happens. It takes quite a bit of math in order to move the lines on the fly for a custom teaser or parlay bet.
One of the main features of teasers is that the sportsbook will apply the same odds adjustment across the board to all of your legs. You can't pick and choose how much movement each individual line of the bet can receive.
So, many sportsbooks will limit the types of bets that are eligible for a teaser to spread bets and totals bets. A moneyline or a proposition bet has too many variables to nail down for an equitable teasing rate.
Many sportsbooks will also keep teasers limited only to games with structures that allow for meaningful point adjustments. Since games like basketball and football typically score many points, it's a lot easier to implement a flat shift in the spread or the total than it is in a game like baseball or soccer.
The latter two games commonly end with low scores, so there simply isn't enough wiggle room to make the adjustment in a serious manner. However, depending on the sportsbook, some will have different offers available for varying teaser amounts.
A bet adjusted by four points, for instance, will pay out more than the same parlay adjusted by five points. To a certain extent, you can pick the amount of adjustment that you want.
Is a teaser a good bet?
At this point, you may be thinking that teasers sound great. In fact, based upon the information above, you could be forgiven for wondering why you would ever choose a straight parlay when you could tease the rate in your favor.
There are a couple of catches that come into play when you're betting a teaser.
For one thing, teasers pay less than straight parlays consisting of the same legs. Because you're reducing the risk to your bet, the sportsbook is not going to roll over and give you a chance at free bet equity.
Another issue is that even though teasers reduce the chance that you'll lose it all, the possibility of doing so still exists. Teasers are parlays at their cores, and no amount of line shifting will change the underlying all-or-nothing structure associated with parlays.
So, while you may want to jump on teasers, understand that they are still a tough bet to win. At a certain point, it might become preferable to go for the bigger dollars of the straight parlay, even with the added risk.
How to Bet on Sports
Teaser betting examples from FanDuel
Teasers, like parlays, are often easier to understand as a real-world example. So, the following listing is an actual teaser that we put together on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Please note that we used $100 as our bet size for this scenario. You don't have to bet the same amount by any means — we just wanted a nice, round number for our examples.
One last thing to be aware of is that FanDuel does give the option to choose the amount of the adjustment that you're receiving in your teaser. So, hopefully, this NBA teaser bet example will give you an idea about how everything works.
Three-team teaser (NBA)
- Toronto Raptors vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Raptors +5.5 @ -110
- Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat: Pacers +4 @ -114
- Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers -5 @ -110
Teaser betting odds breakdown
- Straight parlay: +584
- Profit potential: $584.17
- Teaser +4: +160
- Profit potential: $160
- Teaser +4.5: +140
- Profit potential: $140
- Teaser +5: +120
- Profit potential: $120
Here we have a fairly standard parlay or teaser combination to use from the NBA. Two of our selections are mild underdogs, and the third is a favorite to win.
One thing to note is how profound the effect of yielding four to five points of leeway can be. As a straight parlay, this bet would be almost a 6:1 underdog.
However, even at the lowest teaser rate, bettors are only 8:5 underdogs. The takeaway is that NBA teams are often no worse than two baskets away from the spread, and spotting each team five points to use is almost enough to turn the bet into a favorite.
What is a pleaser bet?
As you bet parlays and teasers in Virginia, it's possible that you'll run across another type of bet called the pleaser.
Although it might look like a typo, pleaser bets are another type of parlay. They are, in fact, the mirror image of teasers. So, instead of sportsbooks giving you points on a spread or a moneyline, it takes them away. Pleasers take a straight parlay and make it harder to win.
On spec, it might seem as if you'd never want to take advantage of this kind of offer. Indeed, pleasers are much rarer than their counterparts with the rhyming name. However, with the lengthening of the odds comes an increase in the payout potential. In the same way that teasers cause your potential winnings to grow smaller, pleasers move in the opposite direction.
To be clear — you should never bet on a pleaser with money that matters to you in any way. Parlays are hard enough to win; pleasers are that much more difficult to pull off.
Still, if you feel as though a parlay is an incredible longshot, anyway, and you'd like to give yourself an opportunity for an even bigger score, a pleaser might be the bet for you.
Teasers offer less risk, less reward
Some sports bettors will never take advantage of a parlay bet, let alone a teaser. If you want to dip your toe in the world of parlays, a sports betting teaser might be the way to do it while lessening the risk that you're taking.
Still, no matter what variant you're using, parlays are high-risk, high-reward propositions. Make sure that you're not betting rent or grocery money on one of these types of wagers (or any wager, for that matter).
These days it seems every sport betting forum on the net is buzzing about 'Wong Teasers' and 'Teaser Betting Strategy'. I'll be honest, as someone who's made a steady profit each year since 1999 betting teasers, I wasn't thrilled when 'teaser strategy' became the betting forum topic. Rewinding to almost a decade ago, soon after Stanford Wong released the book Sharp Sports Betting, Las Vegas sportsbooks started losing money on teasers. Today its nearly impossible to find a +EV bet in Las Vegas as far as teasers are concerned. Thankfully, online there are still plenty of options, but how long might that last?
Even though I'm still reluctant, considering the cat is out of the bag so to speak, I've decided to write this comprehensive article about teaser betting to clear a few things up, and contribute. Here I'll break everything down to as simple as possible, and not only show you which teaser bets are profitable, but help you understand why they are profitable. After reading this article, you'll be well equipped to bet teasers with the odds in your favor. I believe strongly that you'll benefit from the info on this page, so I ask a small favor: please consider supporting our site by either linking to it in a blog post or forum, or joining an online sportsbook using one of our links (such as 5Dimes.eu for example).
For those not familiar with teasers, I'll start with intro material. I encourage experienced bettors to simply skim the first few sections.
What is a Teaser Bet?
In layman terms, a teaser is a parlay bet that uses modified point spreads. In football, the most common modification is six points. So let's say this week there are three bets you like: Jets -7.5, Raiders +1.5, and Bills +5.5. Rather than betting these straight or in a parlay, you could make a three team six point teaser bet of Jets -1.5, Raiders +7.5, Bills +11.5. To win the bet, you'll need all three teams to cover. At most online betting sites, a winning three teamer pays 1.8 to 1.
Standard Teaser Odds
Teaser odds vary from site to site. When betting six point football teasers, you want to find 2 teams -110 or better, 3 teams +180 or better, 4 teams +300 or better. You can find these odds at www.Bovada.lv.
5Dimes.eu is worth mentioning as well, as they have industry leading odds with 2 team six point teasers at +100. The catch however is 5Dimes often shades lines in such a way that it is hard to find good value teasing. What I mean by this is that if every site has Jets -8.5 / Redskins +8.5, 5Dimes might have the line listed as Jets -9.5 +105 / Redskins +9.5 -125. The pricing +105, -125 etc. has no relevance to teasers, because you can tease either side six points and get the same payout as when both sides are -110. The reason 5Dimes lists the line this way is teasing +8.5 to +15.5, doesn't have as much value as teasing -8.5 to -2.5 for reasons we'll cover later in this article. When you get deeper into advanced teaser strategy, 5Dimes is a great out to have; but as a beginner, just know that +100 on two team six point teasers can be deceiving.
Another way teaser odds can be deceiving: Take the example of BetMania who offers +100 on 2-team 6-points teasers. This is not a company I'm well familiar with but a quick scan of the web I found Sports Betting Sites gives them a C+ rating which is not very good. This brings me to my final point; many of the less than reputable bookmakers offer the largest payouts. You need to be wise to this scam as a sportsbook can publish any payout rate they wish with no risk if they have no intention of paying winners. Being well familiar with this topic I can tell you, the most reputable betting sites that also offer favourable teaser odds are www.Bovada.lv and 5Dimes.
Teaser Rules for Pushes
The rules for pushes are generally the same at each site. If a leg in a teaser pushes while any other leg is a loss, the teaser bet is graded a loss. A push and all wins reduce the same as they would in a parlay. For example, a three team teaser with the results: push/win/win is paid as a two team teaser. In the case where there are no losses, but only a single win, bets are refunded (example: 2 Teamer with push/win = no action and bets are refunded).
An Intro to Advanced Teaser Strategy
As we mentioned, a teaser bet is a parlay using a modified point spread. In order to analyze teasers strategically, we need to break the bet down to the point where we understand what odds we are paying per leg. If this is at all confusing, don't worry, it should make sense momentarily.
Let's start with 2 team 6 point (-110) teasers. As you might already know, to break even at -110 you need to win 52.38% of your bets. The formula used to calculate this is risk divided by return, where return equals stake plus win. For example, a bettor risks $110 to win $100, the return is $210, so the math here is $110 risk/$210 return=0.5238 which is 52.38%. This is how often 'both' legs of a teaser must win for the bet to be break even. In order to do any sort of statistical analysis of teasers, we need to ask ourselves 'how often must each leg individually win to achieve a 52.38% win rate?' To calculate this, what we need to know is what number times itself equals 0.5238. Using a square root calculator, we find 0.7237 x 0.7237 = 0.5238. This means that each individual leg must win 72.37% of the time on average for the teaser bet to have neutral (break even) expectation. To keep from getting math intensive, I'll simplify things and tell you to Google search 'Moneyline Converter', plug in 72.37%, and see in American odds format that this equates to a moneyline of -262.
We've now deciphered a two team six point teaser at -110. What we have is a two team parlay at -262 per team. The bookmaker sold us six points and charged us 152 cents (from the standard -110) for those points.
This same math can be used on other teasers as well. To run through one more example, we'll look at a three team teaser at +180. A bet at these odds is $100 to win $180, so a winning bet returns $280 (our $100 stake plus $180 win). Using the break even formula of risk divided by return, we get 100/280=0.35714. This teaser has three teams, so we need to know which number times itself three times equals 0.35714. Here we use a cube root calculator to determine that the answer is 0.7095 x 0.7095 x 0.7095. So in a three team six point teaser, each leg must win 70.95% of the time to break even. We plug that into a moneyline converter and get -244.
We've now deciphered that a three team six point teaser at +180 is a three team parlay at -244 per team. The bookmaker sold us six points and charged us 134 cents (from the standard -110) for those points.
After running this math on several options, I get the following odds for how often individual legs must win for the given teaser to break even:
2 team -110 = 72.37% / 2 team +100 = 70.71% / 2 team -105 = 71.57%
3 team +180 = 70.95%
4 Team +300 = 70.71%
5 team +450 71.11% / 5 team +500=69.88%
6 team +600 = 72.30% / 6 team +700 = 70.71%
The four to six team options have a higher variance, and it's not often we'll find that many teams in a given week worth teasing. So, in comparing the other options, you can see that 3 teamers at +180 offers us the best value, unless we can find a site offering 2 teamers at +100.
Sports Betting Teasers Explained Odds
2014 Update: I can't find a sportsbooks offering 3 team teasers at +180 anymore. The best I found was +165 at 5Dimes.eu. I worked out the math using the formula above for 3 team teasers at +165 and each leg would need to hit 72.26% of the time to break even.
The Golden Key to Teaser Betting
We now know that when betting three team teasers at +180, we need each team to win 70.95% of the time. To determine if it was better to bet straight against the spread or in a teaser, let's compare. If we bet straight at a reduced juice sportsbook such at 5dimes, we'd pay -105. To calculate our required break even rate at -105, we use the risk divided by return formula again. A $105 bet returns $205 (our $105 stake plus $100 win), so the math is 105/205=0.5122, which is 51.22%. The difference between the 70.95% break even rate in a teaser and the 51.22% betting straight with reduced juice is 19.73%.
Now, if you're a savvy bettor familiar with teasers, a light bulb might have just turned on in your head. If not, don't worry, you're likely overwhelmed and need more time to adjust. To determine if a teaser is a better option than a straight bet, we need to know if those six additional points increases the win probability by 19.73% or not.
The truth of the matter is that most teasers are sucker bets, because very few times will six points increase your win probability by 19.73%. To do this, you need to cross key numbers. In the NFL, the most common margins of victory in order are 3, 7, 10, 6, 14, 4, 1, 17, 13 and 2. This is why basic strategy teasers have historically been +EV.
Basic Strategy Teasers:
In Stanford Wong's book Sharp Sports Betting, first published in 2001, the idea of 'basic strategy teasers' was first put into print. Wong uses push charts to illustrate that teasing +1.5 to +2.5 underdogs and -7.5 to -8.5 favorites is profitable when given the right teaser odds. Notice in both of these teaser options that when moving the spread six points, you're capturing a win on what would have been a loss: four of the six most common margins of victory including the top two (3, 7, 6 and 4). While it's now nine years outdated from the time the chapter of Sharp Sports Betting was written, these teaser legs were winning at greater than the required 70.95% clip.
So how have bettors following basic strategy faired in recent years?
Today is November 19, 2010. I specify that date so you know the sample size I am working with. Since the Start of the 2006 NFL season Week 1, to as recent as the Thursday night game of the 2010 NFL season Week 11, legs included in basic strategy teasers have gone 101-45 (69.17%). Unfortunately, that means blindly following all 'Wong Teasers' has not been profitable. The good news is that a modified basic strategy has been profitable.
Breaking down the teaser results into four subsets here are the results:
Home Dogs +1.5 to +2.5 Teased to +7.5 to +8.5
25-17 (59.52%)
Road Dogs +1.5 to +2.5 Teased to +7.5 to +8.5
44-17 (72.13%)
Home Favorites -7.5 to -8.5 Teased to -1.5 to -2.5
23-7 (76.67%)
Road Favorites -7.5 to -8.5 Teased to -1.5 to -2.5
9-4 (69.23%)
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Update on October 27th, 2014:
This is Kevin giving another update to Jim's article on teasers. I wanted to check up to see if Road dogs +1.5 to +2.5 and Home favorites of -7.5 to -8.5 were still profitable for teasers or if the market has adjusted.
Here is the data since 2004:
*Note I can only get the data to the nearest percentage, but that is fine for this.
Home favorites -7.5 to -8.5 teased to -1.5 to -2.5 = 76% (still profitable)
Road underdogs +1.5 to +2.5 teased to +7.5 to +8.5 = 71% (not profitable)
So while I found that small road underdogs teased up haven't been profitable since 2004, I also went ahead and looked at the other two and noticed that…
Home underdogs +1.5 to +2.5 teased to +7.5 to +8.5 = 78% (profitable)
Road favorites -7.5 to -8.5 teased to -1.5 to -2.5 = 80% (profitable)
So as you can see three of the four are profitable.
But, the sportsbooks are there to try and make money so what some of them have started doing is 'line shading' so that you can't get these numbers to tease up or down 6 points. Check out my video below to learn more about line shading:
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If you were to simply stick to road dogs and home favorites, you'd be well over the required break even win rate. Now, this does have sample size issues, and some criticize this as 'data mining', but to be blunt: I don't care and am no longer including the home dogs in a teaser. There has been a trend in the NFL for quite some time now: teams play more aggressively on the road than they do at home. At home, they are often running down and managing the clock, where on the road they're looking to get up an additional possession. This applies to certain teams and coaches more than others, but it is food for thought for your analysis/handicapping when deciding which teams to put in a teaser.
Teasers that cross the three and seven should logically remain the most profitable ones. However, back in 2004 or 2005 a poster named 'Bill the Cop' prophetically introduced us to 'non basic strategy teasers'. This is a rather odd term, because you might think it means any teaser that does not fit the basic strategy model, but, nope, it means underdogs +4.5 to +5.5.
Since the start of the 2006 season through the completions of 2010 NFL season Week 10, all underdogs +4.5 to +5.5 teased six points have gone 88-32 for 73.33%. Keep in mind, this isn't data mining. This subset was back tested as profitable in 2005, I discovered it in 2006. I have tracked and monitored it since, and it has been a winner.
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A quick note is that recently home underdogs +4.5 to +5.5 have not been doing well in teasers. The road dogs +4.5 to +5.5 have been dominant going 68-17 (80.00%) since 2006.
A Teaser Betting Tip Beyond Conventional Wisdom
Sports forums are filled with useless information. There is a common belief that teasers that cross the zero are the worst teasers. If you hear someone say this, don't correct them; profit, instead, while the opportunity exists. 5Dimes offers two team six point 'ties win' teasers at -105, and 6.5 point 'ties win' teasers at -115. Teasing strong -3 road favorites to +3 'ties win', and strong -3.5 road favorites to +3 'ties win', can make sense. The first example is 64-24 (72.73%) since 2006, and it is good enough for a blind bet. The second option comes down to this: if it's good enough to bet straight, it is likely better to tease if you have a leg to match it with.
College Football Teasers
The same math we shared earlier in this article applies also to college football teasers. For a three team teaser at +180 to be a better option than a straight bet at -105, the added points need to increase the legs win probability by 19.73%. The tips we shared in this article regarding 'basic strategy teasers', 'Bill the cop teasers', 'crossing the zero with double threes', etc, do not apply to college football. In fact, it is rare in college football that six points will ever increase the win rate by 19.73%, even when crossing the 3 and 7. The few exceptions to this are games with low totals.
Basketball Teasers
I'll admit I'm not an expert on basketball betting. My limited opinion and analysis is that there are far less profitable basketball teasers than NFL ones. Most betting sites start at 4 points, some at 4.5 points for teasers of 2 teams at -110, 3 teams at +180, and 4 teams at +300. Here is a rough push chart for points in NBA basketball:
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As another industry secret that many wouldn't share: On weeks where I find only a single NFL leg worth betting, I then turn to Bookmaker.eu. Bookmaker offers teasers where football and basketball can be mixed and starts the base at 5 points for basketball, where the football base is 6 points. This is far better than the standard odds. To capture the value of that one football teaser leg, I'll combine it with an NBA teaser leg where I can cross as many of the most valuable points in NBA as possible (Points 4-10). Keep in mind that Bookmaker only offers +160 on three teamers, so this strategy is only relevant to two team mixed teasers at -110 (5 point NBA, 6 point NFL).
A Few Final Words About Teasers
Another way teaser odds can be deceiving: Take the example of BetMania who offers +100 on 2-team 6-points teasers. This is not a company I'm well familiar with but a quick scan of the web I found Sports Betting Sites gives them a C+ rating which is not very good. This brings me to my final point; many of the less than reputable bookmakers offer the largest payouts. You need to be wise to this scam as a sportsbook can publish any payout rate they wish with no risk if they have no intention of paying winners. Being well familiar with this topic I can tell you, the most reputable betting sites that also offer favourable teaser odds are www.Bovada.lv and 5Dimes.
Teaser Rules for Pushes
The rules for pushes are generally the same at each site. If a leg in a teaser pushes while any other leg is a loss, the teaser bet is graded a loss. A push and all wins reduce the same as they would in a parlay. For example, a three team teaser with the results: push/win/win is paid as a two team teaser. In the case where there are no losses, but only a single win, bets are refunded (example: 2 Teamer with push/win = no action and bets are refunded).
An Intro to Advanced Teaser Strategy
As we mentioned, a teaser bet is a parlay using a modified point spread. In order to analyze teasers strategically, we need to break the bet down to the point where we understand what odds we are paying per leg. If this is at all confusing, don't worry, it should make sense momentarily.
Let's start with 2 team 6 point (-110) teasers. As you might already know, to break even at -110 you need to win 52.38% of your bets. The formula used to calculate this is risk divided by return, where return equals stake plus win. For example, a bettor risks $110 to win $100, the return is $210, so the math here is $110 risk/$210 return=0.5238 which is 52.38%. This is how often 'both' legs of a teaser must win for the bet to be break even. In order to do any sort of statistical analysis of teasers, we need to ask ourselves 'how often must each leg individually win to achieve a 52.38% win rate?' To calculate this, what we need to know is what number times itself equals 0.5238. Using a square root calculator, we find 0.7237 x 0.7237 = 0.5238. This means that each individual leg must win 72.37% of the time on average for the teaser bet to have neutral (break even) expectation. To keep from getting math intensive, I'll simplify things and tell you to Google search 'Moneyline Converter', plug in 72.37%, and see in American odds format that this equates to a moneyline of -262.
We've now deciphered a two team six point teaser at -110. What we have is a two team parlay at -262 per team. The bookmaker sold us six points and charged us 152 cents (from the standard -110) for those points.
This same math can be used on other teasers as well. To run through one more example, we'll look at a three team teaser at +180. A bet at these odds is $100 to win $180, so a winning bet returns $280 (our $100 stake plus $180 win). Using the break even formula of risk divided by return, we get 100/280=0.35714. This teaser has three teams, so we need to know which number times itself three times equals 0.35714. Here we use a cube root calculator to determine that the answer is 0.7095 x 0.7095 x 0.7095. So in a three team six point teaser, each leg must win 70.95% of the time to break even. We plug that into a moneyline converter and get -244.
We've now deciphered that a three team six point teaser at +180 is a three team parlay at -244 per team. The bookmaker sold us six points and charged us 134 cents (from the standard -110) for those points.
After running this math on several options, I get the following odds for how often individual legs must win for the given teaser to break even:
2 team -110 = 72.37% / 2 team +100 = 70.71% / 2 team -105 = 71.57%
3 team +180 = 70.95%
4 Team +300 = 70.71%
5 team +450 71.11% / 5 team +500=69.88%
6 team +600 = 72.30% / 6 team +700 = 70.71%
The four to six team options have a higher variance, and it's not often we'll find that many teams in a given week worth teasing. So, in comparing the other options, you can see that 3 teamers at +180 offers us the best value, unless we can find a site offering 2 teamers at +100.
Sports Betting Teasers Explained Odds
2014 Update: I can't find a sportsbooks offering 3 team teasers at +180 anymore. The best I found was +165 at 5Dimes.eu. I worked out the math using the formula above for 3 team teasers at +165 and each leg would need to hit 72.26% of the time to break even.
The Golden Key to Teaser Betting
We now know that when betting three team teasers at +180, we need each team to win 70.95% of the time. To determine if it was better to bet straight against the spread or in a teaser, let's compare. If we bet straight at a reduced juice sportsbook such at 5dimes, we'd pay -105. To calculate our required break even rate at -105, we use the risk divided by return formula again. A $105 bet returns $205 (our $105 stake plus $100 win), so the math is 105/205=0.5122, which is 51.22%. The difference between the 70.95% break even rate in a teaser and the 51.22% betting straight with reduced juice is 19.73%.
Now, if you're a savvy bettor familiar with teasers, a light bulb might have just turned on in your head. If not, don't worry, you're likely overwhelmed and need more time to adjust. To determine if a teaser is a better option than a straight bet, we need to know if those six additional points increases the win probability by 19.73% or not.
The truth of the matter is that most teasers are sucker bets, because very few times will six points increase your win probability by 19.73%. To do this, you need to cross key numbers. In the NFL, the most common margins of victory in order are 3, 7, 10, 6, 14, 4, 1, 17, 13 and 2. This is why basic strategy teasers have historically been +EV.
Basic Strategy Teasers:
In Stanford Wong's book Sharp Sports Betting, first published in 2001, the idea of 'basic strategy teasers' was first put into print. Wong uses push charts to illustrate that teasing +1.5 to +2.5 underdogs and -7.5 to -8.5 favorites is profitable when given the right teaser odds. Notice in both of these teaser options that when moving the spread six points, you're capturing a win on what would have been a loss: four of the six most common margins of victory including the top two (3, 7, 6 and 4). While it's now nine years outdated from the time the chapter of Sharp Sports Betting was written, these teaser legs were winning at greater than the required 70.95% clip.
So how have bettors following basic strategy faired in recent years?
Today is November 19, 2010. I specify that date so you know the sample size I am working with. Since the Start of the 2006 NFL season Week 1, to as recent as the Thursday night game of the 2010 NFL season Week 11, legs included in basic strategy teasers have gone 101-45 (69.17%). Unfortunately, that means blindly following all 'Wong Teasers' has not been profitable. The good news is that a modified basic strategy has been profitable.
Breaking down the teaser results into four subsets here are the results:
Home Dogs +1.5 to +2.5 Teased to +7.5 to +8.5
25-17 (59.52%)
Road Dogs +1.5 to +2.5 Teased to +7.5 to +8.5
44-17 (72.13%)
Home Favorites -7.5 to -8.5 Teased to -1.5 to -2.5
23-7 (76.67%)
Road Favorites -7.5 to -8.5 Teased to -1.5 to -2.5
9-4 (69.23%)
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Update on October 27th, 2014:
This is Kevin giving another update to Jim's article on teasers. I wanted to check up to see if Road dogs +1.5 to +2.5 and Home favorites of -7.5 to -8.5 were still profitable for teasers or if the market has adjusted.
Here is the data since 2004:
*Note I can only get the data to the nearest percentage, but that is fine for this.
Home favorites -7.5 to -8.5 teased to -1.5 to -2.5 = 76% (still profitable)
Road underdogs +1.5 to +2.5 teased to +7.5 to +8.5 = 71% (not profitable)
So while I found that small road underdogs teased up haven't been profitable since 2004, I also went ahead and looked at the other two and noticed that…
Home underdogs +1.5 to +2.5 teased to +7.5 to +8.5 = 78% (profitable)
Road favorites -7.5 to -8.5 teased to -1.5 to -2.5 = 80% (profitable)
So as you can see three of the four are profitable.
But, the sportsbooks are there to try and make money so what some of them have started doing is 'line shading' so that you can't get these numbers to tease up or down 6 points. Check out my video below to learn more about line shading:
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If you were to simply stick to road dogs and home favorites, you'd be well over the required break even win rate. Now, this does have sample size issues, and some criticize this as 'data mining', but to be blunt: I don't care and am no longer including the home dogs in a teaser. There has been a trend in the NFL for quite some time now: teams play more aggressively on the road than they do at home. At home, they are often running down and managing the clock, where on the road they're looking to get up an additional possession. This applies to certain teams and coaches more than others, but it is food for thought for your analysis/handicapping when deciding which teams to put in a teaser.
Teasers that cross the three and seven should logically remain the most profitable ones. However, back in 2004 or 2005 a poster named 'Bill the Cop' prophetically introduced us to 'non basic strategy teasers'. This is a rather odd term, because you might think it means any teaser that does not fit the basic strategy model, but, nope, it means underdogs +4.5 to +5.5.
Since the start of the 2006 season through the completions of 2010 NFL season Week 10, all underdogs +4.5 to +5.5 teased six points have gone 88-32 for 73.33%. Keep in mind, this isn't data mining. This subset was back tested as profitable in 2005, I discovered it in 2006. I have tracked and monitored it since, and it has been a winner.
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A quick note is that recently home underdogs +4.5 to +5.5 have not been doing well in teasers. The road dogs +4.5 to +5.5 have been dominant going 68-17 (80.00%) since 2006.
A Teaser Betting Tip Beyond Conventional Wisdom
Sports forums are filled with useless information. There is a common belief that teasers that cross the zero are the worst teasers. If you hear someone say this, don't correct them; profit, instead, while the opportunity exists. 5Dimes offers two team six point 'ties win' teasers at -105, and 6.5 point 'ties win' teasers at -115. Teasing strong -3 road favorites to +3 'ties win', and strong -3.5 road favorites to +3 'ties win', can make sense. The first example is 64-24 (72.73%) since 2006, and it is good enough for a blind bet. The second option comes down to this: if it's good enough to bet straight, it is likely better to tease if you have a leg to match it with.
College Football Teasers
The same math we shared earlier in this article applies also to college football teasers. For a three team teaser at +180 to be a better option than a straight bet at -105, the added points need to increase the legs win probability by 19.73%. The tips we shared in this article regarding 'basic strategy teasers', 'Bill the cop teasers', 'crossing the zero with double threes', etc, do not apply to college football. In fact, it is rare in college football that six points will ever increase the win rate by 19.73%, even when crossing the 3 and 7. The few exceptions to this are games with low totals.
Basketball Teasers
I'll admit I'm not an expert on basketball betting. My limited opinion and analysis is that there are far less profitable basketball teasers than NFL ones. Most betting sites start at 4 points, some at 4.5 points for teasers of 2 teams at -110, 3 teams at +180, and 4 teams at +300. Here is a rough push chart for points in NBA basketball:
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As another industry secret that many wouldn't share: On weeks where I find only a single NFL leg worth betting, I then turn to Bookmaker.eu. Bookmaker offers teasers where football and basketball can be mixed and starts the base at 5 points for basketball, where the football base is 6 points. This is far better than the standard odds. To capture the value of that one football teaser leg, I'll combine it with an NBA teaser leg where I can cross as many of the most valuable points in NBA as possible (Points 4-10). Keep in mind that Bookmaker only offers +160 on three teamers, so this strategy is only relevant to two team mixed teasers at -110 (5 point NBA, 6 point NFL).
A Few Final Words About Teasers
Sports Betting Teasers
When making blind teaser bets using 'basic strategy', 'Bill the Cop Teasers' my -3 to +3 ties win, or when doing your own analysis that involves 'capping the market', wait until 30 minutes before game time to make your bets. In this time frame, the NFL betting lines represent the largest and most successful professional gamblers opinion of the games true probability. To understand why, read our article on the current betting market. Our final word of advice is to manage your bankroll well. Teasers seem to come in streaks where they win 7 or 8 weeks in a row, and the bettors get over confident. Then there is one horrible week where everything loses. In 2010, that was week 8; it was near a clean sweep for most. Don't get over confident, bet reasonable, build yet also protect your bankroll, and you can make a lot of money betting teasers.
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Sports Betting Teasers Explained 3
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