What Is a Teaser Bet? How Teasers Work in Football and Basketball Betting

What is a teaser bet in sports betting? (OutKick)

A teaser bet is when you get to pair two or more plays and adjust the line in one way or another. Bettors use a teaser to give themselves a better price on a play without having to take as big of a risk on covering a spread or total. In exchange for being able to adjust the line, you are paying the book different prices. This will guide you through how to make a teaser bet and what things you should consider before placing the wager. 

Teasers are offered in football and basketball only, because those are the sports where points scored come in predictable chunks. You will not find a teaser on a baseball or hockey card.

 What Is a Teaser Bet?

A teaser bet is a type of parlay that lets you adjust the point spread or total on every leg by a fixed number of points. In football, the standard teaser is six points. In basketball, it is four. Every leg moves by the same amount and in your favor, and every leg has to win for the ticket to cash.

The trade-off is the price. A standard two-team point spread parlay pays about +260. A two-team six-point teaser pays somewhere between -110 and -120 depending on the sportsbook. You are paying for the points with the odds.

Teasers come in a few standard sizes:

• Football: 6, 6.5 and 7-point teasers are standard. Some books also offer 10- and 13-point teasers, often called sweethearts or super teasers, which require three or four legs and push every leg.
• Basketball: 4-, 4.5-, and 5-point teasers are standard.
• Minimum legs: Two. Most books allow up to 10 legs on a single teaser ticket.
• A push on any leg usually reduces the teaser to the next lower number of teams rather than voiding it. Check the house rules, because sweetheart teasers often treat a push as a loss.

How Does a Teaser Bet Work?

Start with the standard lines, then move each one by the teaser amount in the direction that helps your side. Favorites get smaller, underdogs get bigger, overs get lower, and unders get higher.

Six Point NFL Teaser Example

Suppose you like two Sunday favorites, but both spreads feel like a touchdown too many. A two-team six-point teaser turns them into this:

• Leg 1: Packers -7.5 becomes Packers -1.5
• Leg 2: Cowboys -3 becomes Cowboys +3
• Price: -120 at a typical sportsbook
• Stake: $120 to win $100
• Result: Both teased lines must cover. If the Packers win by 2 and the Cowboys lose by a field goal, the ticket cashes.

Teasing a Total

Totals work the same way. A game total of 47.5 becomes 41.5 if you tease the over or 53.5 if you tease the under. You can mix spreads and totals on the same ticket, but most books will not let you tease both sides of the same game.

Four Point NBA Teaser Example

• Leg 1: Celtics -6 becomes Celtics -2
• Leg 2: Over 224.5 becomes Over 220.5
• Price: -110 at a typical sportsbook
• Both legs must hit for the ticket to win.

Teaser Bet vs Parlay

A teaser is a parlay with a discount on the lines and a discount on the payout. The question is which discount is bigger.

The parlay pays about three times as much, so the teaser only makes sense when the extra six points raise your win probability enough to cover that gap. In NFL betting that happens in one specific spot, covered below.

How Are Teaser Payouts Calculated?

Unlike a standard parlay, a teaser payout is not calculated leg by leg. Each sportsbook publishes a fixed price for each number of legs at each teaser size. The table below shows the most common football prices. Books vary from 10 to 20 cents, so check the ticket before you confirm.

To work out a payout, treat the whole teaser as one bet at the listed price. A $50 three team six point teaser at +170 returns $85 in profit plus your $50 stake. A $50 two team teaser at -120 returns $41.67 in profit.

When Does a Teaser Bet Make Sense?

A teaser earns its price when the six points move a spread across the two most common NFL margins of victory: 3 and 7. Games are decided by exactly 3 points roughly 15 percent of the time and by exactly 7 points close to 9 percent of the time, so a line that starts on one side of those numbers and finishes on the other picks up a large share of outcomes.

The Wong Teaser

The pattern has a name. In 2001, Stanford Wong described the two spots where a six-point teaser is historically profitable:

• Favorites of -7.5 to -8.5, teased down to -1.5 to -2.5. The teased line crosses both 7 and 3.
• Underdogs of +1.5 to +2.5, teased up to +7.5 to +8.5. Same thing in reverse.
• Each leg should win roughly 73 to 75 percent of the time historically, which clears the break-even rate at -110 to -120.
• Avoid teasing through zero (a -2.5 favorite into a +3.5 underdog). Games are almost never decided by zero, so you are wasting points.

Sportsbooks know this. Many now price two team teasers at -130 or -140, or shade the lines on exactly these games, which has thinned the edge. The logic still holds, but the margin is smaller than it was.

When a Teaser Does Not Make Sense

• Teasing a big favorite from -14 to -8. You crossed nothing useful and gave up most of the payout.
• Teasing totals. Totals are not clustered around key numbers the way spreads are, so six points buys less win probability.
• Sweetheart and super teasers. The 10 and 13 point versions look safe but typically pay -600 or worse per leg with a push losing. The implied probability rarely matches the real one.
• Basketball teasers in general. NBA margins are spread evenly, so four points moves win probability by a near fixed amount, and the price is set to match it.

Teasers on College Football

College spreads are larger and scores are more variable than in the NFL, so key numbers matter less. A six-point college teaser is usually a worse bet than the same teaser on an NFL card, even on a marquee SEC game.

How to Place a Teaser Bet

1. Open the sportsbook app and go to NFL or NBA. Many apps list teasers under a dedicated Teasers tab, while others build them from the bet slip.
2. Add two or more point spreads or totals to your slip.
3. In the bet slip, switch from Parlay to Teaser and select the number of points (6, 6.5 or 7 in football).
4. Check the adjusted lines on each leg. Every spread should have moved in your favor by the amount you picked.
5. Enter your stake, confirm the price and place the bet.

Not every app offers teasers on every game. Fanatics and bet365 build teasers from the bet slip, while FanDuel and BetMGM have a separate Teaser section on the NFL page. Our guide to the best sports betting apps compares every book.

Common Teaser Betting Mistakes

• Adding legs for the payout. A six-team teaser at +600 sounds generous, but six legs at 73 percent each win about 15 percent of the time, which needs +570 just to break even.
• Teasing through zero or away from key numbers. If the six points do not cross 3 or 7, you are overpaying.
• Mixing weak legs with strong ones. One bad leg sinks the whole ticket. A teaser is only as good as its worst leg.
• Ignoring the push rule. Some books void a pushed leg, some reduce the ticket, and some count it as a loss on sweetheart teasers.
• Forgetting that the price moved. If your book charges -140 on two team teasers, the Wong math no longer works.

Responsible Gambling

Sports betting should stay entertainment. Set a budget before you start, treat losses as the cost of that entertainment, and never chase them. Every legal sportsbook offers deposit limits, time limits, cool-off periods and self-exclusion in its account settings. If betting stops being fun, help is free and confidential:

• National Problem Gambling Helpline: Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738)
• National Council on Problem Gambling: ncpgambling.org
• 1-800-GAMBLER: Call or text 1-800-426-2537, 1800gambler.net
• Gamblers Anonymous: gamblersanonymous.org

Teaser Bet FAQs

What is a teaser bet in simple terms?

A teaser is a parlay where every point spread or total is moved in your favor by a set number of points, usually six in football and four in basketball. All legs must win, and the payout is lower than a standard parlay because of the extra points.

How much does a two-team six-point teaser pay?

Most sportsbooks price a two-team six-point football teaser between -110 and -120, so a $110 to $120 stake wins $100. Some books charge -130 or more, so always check the ticket.

What is a Wong teaser?

A Wong teaser is a six-point NFL teaser that moves favorites of 7.5 to 8.5 down below 3, or underdogs of 1.5 to 2.5 up past 7. It is named for Stanford Wong, who showed these legs historically win often enough to beat the teaser price.

Can you tease a total?

Yes. A teaser moves a total by the same number of points as a spread, lowering the over or raising the under. Most bettors stick to spreads because totals do not cluster around key numbers.

What happens if one leg of a teaser pushes?

At most sportsbooks a push drops the teaser to the next lower number of legs. A two team teaser with one push becomes a single straight bet. Sweetheart teasers often count a push as a loss, so read the rules.

Are teasers a good bet?

Most are not. Six point NFL teasers that cross 3 and 7 are the exception and have a small historical edge. Teasers on big favorites, totals or basketball usually favor the sportsbook.

Can you tease a moneyline?

No. Teasers only apply to point spreads and totals. Moneylines have no number to move.