What is a teaser bet?

Sports bettors who are used to placing accumulators may not be aware of another type of combination bet out there – the teaser bet.

Teasers are most commonly found in the United States and they’re actually pretty rare in the UK and Ireland. There’s a historic reason for that, which we’ll explain in this betting guide.

If you’re curious about teaser bets and want to know more then Paddy Power is here to help. We’ll look at the ways teaser bets are structured and why they exist in the first place.

What is a teaser bet?

A teaser bet is a type of accumulator or combination bet, but with an extra layer of complexity woven in. Over in the US, accas are also known as parlays, where you add more than one selection together and create a mega bet. Each selection must win in order for your overall bet – the acca, or parlay – to win.

Well, a teaser bet is effectively a supercharged parlay or acca. Your selections involve the point spread, rather than just betting on which team will win. Because your focus is on the point spread (or handicap, if you’re a UK or Irish punter) then you can adjust the spread and the odds to better suit your preference.

This all might feel a little complicated. So, let’s look at a teaser bet example to make it a bit clearer.

How does a teaser bet work​

Teaser bets are accumulators where each selection focuses on the point spread. This effectively means each selection has a score handicap attached to the end result.

The point spread is set by the bookmaker and aims to level out the odds for both teams. The underdog therefore has equal chance of winning to the favourite, because there’s a handicap added to the final score.

The aim of the point spread is to get the odds as close to Evens (1/1, 2.00, +100) as possible. But what happens if you want to shift the spread and tweak the odds?

This is where the teaser comes in…

Teaser bet example

Let’s use three selections from Paddy Power’s sister site FanDuel to demonstrate how teaser bets work.

How teaser bets work

You choose to bet on the following selections in one accumulator / parlay:

• Timberwolves to beat Magic with -5.5 spread at -110
• Cavaliers to beat Raptors with -15.5 spread -108
• Mavericks to beat Blazers with -7.5 spread at -112

The spread for each game is set so that the game odds are as close to Evens as possible. So, you need each team to win by more than the spread in order for you to win your bet.

But what if you want to move the spread? What if you think all three teams will do worse than the spread, and you feel you need to shift the spread in order to improve your chaces of winning?

This is where you apply the teaser. Here’s how it’s done:

Sports teaser bets are available in the US

You select the “teaser” option in your bet slip and ensure all picks are ticked. Then, adjust the “points” box in the top right of your bet slip. This effectively shifts the spread, so now the Timberwolves need to win by just 1.5 points, the Cavs by 11.5 points, and the Mavericks by 3.5 points.

Your odds have reduced because you’ve effectively given each team a little more breathing space to win their games.

Conversely, you could apply negative points to your teaser and widen the winning margin for each team. This would increase the overall odds and your potential payout.

Can I bet on teasers in the UK?

No. You can’t really bet on teasers in the UK, mainly because bookies here don’t provide them. Teaser bets are linked to the US fascination with point spread betting, which largely focuses on American football and basketball. These two sports often feature one-sided games where it’s more interesting to bet on the score rather than the result. So, point spread betting – and therefore teasers – become a common bet option.

Here in the UK and Ireland, our focus is more on low-scoring sports like football. Teaser betting for rugby hasn’t ever taken off, although it would be more applicable than football due to the sport’s high scoring system.

If you want to try teasers in the UK and Ireland then it’s probably best sticking with handicap accas.

NBA teaser bets are very popular

Best sports for teaser bets

Now let’s look in a little more detail on the sports where teaser bets are best placed. Perhaps it isn’t a surprise that the big focus is on America’s two most popular sports.

American football – The home of the teaser bet, NFL betting often focuses on the point spread as punters seek to squeeze more value from their bets. NFL is predictable enough to make match betting a low-profit game. It’s not enough to back a heavy favourite to win. So, the teaser offers the chance to not only group point spread bets together, but also take control of the spread and tweak the odds.

Basketball – The same goes for betting on NBA games. Favourites usually win, so punters crave a mechanism for balancing out uneven odds. That’s the spread. But punters also want control over their odds, which is where the teaser comes in.

THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO SAFER GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW