In sports betting, a teaser bet is a type of parlay bet. In a teaser bet, the bettor is allowed to change the point spread for a game, making the bet easier to win. In exchange, the sportsbook will lower the payout due to them if they win. The most common teaser is a two-team, six-point football teaser.
They're called “teasers” because they tease you into making poor choices. It's harder to sweep two plays, even with six bonus points per game, then most bettors realize. In fact, those six points are almost never enough to make this a profitable approach over the long haul.
If you're new to sports betting, a two-team six-point teaser is a bet in which you get to move the line six points in your favor on both teams — but then both teams have to cover those new spreads for you to win your bet. If you see a pair of 10-point favorites, you could move both down to -4 in a two-teamer.
Example. Normally, if these bets are played together as a parlay, a bettor will win $260 on a $100 bet. However, with a teaser, the bettor will win $100 on a $110 bet, 10 to 11 odds. The reasoning is that one will get 6 points to adjust the spread (in either direction).
On a standard one-game bet at -110 odds, the house has an edge of 4.5%. On a six-point teaser with three games, the house edge is more than 20%. For five teams, it rises to nearly 35%. While a six-team parlay may pay out at better than +4000 (40/1), a six-team teaser may be closer to +600 (6/1).
Like a parlay, a teaser is a wager that involves multiple games -- two or more -- and you must be correct in all of the games in order to cash your ticket and win the bet. Teaser bets are most common in football and basketball -- the against the spread sports .
If a pick in a teaser results in a push/draw, that pick is removed and the odds are adjusted accordingly. A push in a two-pick teaser, without a loss, is considered “no action” and the wager is refunded. When placing a bet on a Super/Monster teaser, a push means the bet is considered lost.