Sports Betting Master Class Lesson Three: Teasers

Teasers are an important part of a sharp bettor’s toolkit.  Essentially, teasers are a parlay where you get to move the line in exchange for a lower payout. My personal favorite is the 2-team 6-point teaser in football.  At odds of -120 or better, and by following a few simple guidelines, sharp bettors can gain an advantage and additional winners can be gleaned from each week’s betting card.  In fact, many weeks I have seen close losers turned into easy winners by employing teasers as a hedge to my straight bets.

As proof that teasers can be profitable, over the years sportsbooks have attempted to reduce the player’s advantage and have increased the  “price” (odds) on 2 team football teasers from even money when I began betting 40 years ago to  -110 or -120 today. Despite this, you can still bet teasers profitably by following a few simple guidelines:

• To find potential teaser bets to consider, begin by looking for underdogs with point spreads between +1 and +2.5 or favorites with point spreads between -7.5 to -9.5.  This allows you to move the line through the key numbers of 3,4, and 7 which are the most common winning margins in an NFL game and create the best teaser value.
• Avoid large favorites or large dogs.  Moving the line 6 points in a teaser rarely affects your outcome in these games.
• Don’t tease both sides of the same game.
• Look for games with low over-under lines.  The 6 additional points you get by teasing a team loses value the higher the expected final score is.
• Stick to 2-team teasers.  Although 3-team 10-point teasers can be fun, the winning percentage you have to hit to break even rises significantly.
• Shop for the best lines and odds.

I haven't found betting college football teasers to be profitable due to the higher variability in final scores vs the point spread, but do your own homework and see if you can find a formula that works for you.

Remember to be selective, as the winning percentage required to break even at -120 is 73.9%

For a deeper dive into teasers, check out the book  Sharp Sports Betting by Stanford Wong.

By Ricky Gentile

November 24, 2024