Teaser/Pleaser Bets

Teasers and pleasers are versions of parlay or combined wagers that allow the bettor to adjust point spreads in exchange for a lower potential return. In some ways, teasers and pleasers are opposite sides of the same coin. One works in your favor for a reduced payout, while the other goes against your favor for potentially larger payouts and improved odds of winning.

The differences between the two are important to understand. So is the fact that teaser and pleaser bets are complicated ways to wager that may be best left up to seasoned veterans of the sportsbook industry. I’ve included details on payouts and some basic strategic information, but if you aren’t already a successful parlay bettor, you should spend more time learning about these exotic parlays before getting your feet wet with a wager.

What Are Teaser Bets?

Just like a parlay, a teaser allows you to combine bets on multiple games. The difference with a teaser is that you can adjust the point spreads for the games in your contest. What you give up, by gaining the right to adjust the spread, is the higher payout of a standard parlay wager.

Most teaser bets are placed on the NFL – this type of wager lends itself to football betting, since the point spread is the domain of football bettors. Basketball teasers, though less popular, are also available. Teasers are available on as few as two teams or up to fifteen teams. You can add or subtract a specific amount of points to the teams you choose to give yourself a better shot of winning the overall parlay.

Teasers are used to move a line in your favor – they offer lower payouts than a parlay because the odds of winning are increased by shifting the spread. Let’s say the regular line has the Washington Redskins at +8. If you play a “6-point teaser,” the new line would be +14, which gives Washington a much larger spread to beat.

Check out Bovada’s NFL teaser payout chart – looks really complicated, right? Teasers are a very complex form of parlay betting, and learning to use this bet to your advantage takes time. So does understanding the ins and outs of the pay schedule

What Are Pleaser Bets?

Pleasers are available for football and basketball sides, but that’s not the only difference between this wager and teaser wagers. With pleasers the line you wager against for each of your individual bets is moved against you between 6 and 7.5 points. For instance, if the line is -3, and you play a “6-point pleaser,” the new line would be -9.

What’s the benefit?

For starters you don’t have to be perfect, like you do with parlays. If one bet ties and the other wins, you still earn even money. If both of your bets tie, the bet is push. This type of wager is more forgiving, and offers higher payouts, but at a cost. You have to give a huge number of points in order to gain access to the pleaser pay table.

Here is an example of a pleaser pay table from 5Dimes:

Notice how much more complex this type of wager is compared to the parlay bets they’re based on. This chart involves point giveaways, reductions, ties, and a whole lot of numbers. Pleasers are generally available online only, so no phone bets, though you can find both teasers and pleasers at Vegas books, especially during NFL and NBA seasons.

Basic Teaser/Pleaser Bet Strategy

The first thing you need to know as a potential teaser/pleaser bettor – finding the best odds is the most powerful strategic move you can make. That’s because odds for these wagers vary a good deal from site to site.

On a standard six point football teaser, for example, the goal is to find two teams at -110 or better. I find two-team teasers at this rate at Bovada all the time, but that’s just one example from my own Web-based sportsbook experience. How do you use this information strategically? If you find the same two-team six point teaser at +100 (as part of a promotion), you’re obviously better off taking that line.

Remember that the different setup for teasers and pleasers means you can still turn a profit without winning every single wager on your card. You can use this to your advantage because of the simple fact that you don’t have to make totally-solid picks to be a winner.

Here’s why – if any leg in a teaser or pleaser pushes while the rest of the bets are wins, your payout simply reduces by one rung, as is the case in parlays. If you buy a three team pleaser and your results are push, win, and win, you’ll earn the two team pleaser payout. In fact, as long as you win just one leg of your teaser or pleaser wager, you’ll get your bet refunded and face little or no losses.

A Note on Wong Teasers

“Wong teasers” are sports betting’s equivalent of basic blackjack strategy. Put together by famous pseudonymous author Stanford Wong, this basic strategy purports to help anyone who follows a specific system turn a guaranteed profit using teasers betting. The theory is that if you make six point football teasers on favorites of -7.5 to -8.5 and underdogs of +1.5 and +2.5, you almost can’t lose in the long run. This has to do with the average difference in points in NFL games.

What happened? Sportsbooks were getting murdered on Wong Teasers, so they took steps to put a stop to them. You’ll hardly ever find the right numbers to pull off a basic strategy teaser. If you do find one, there’s a good chance the book will limit your action in the future. You’re better off not even messing with this strategy – it used to work really well, but the books have wised up.

Conclusion

Teaser and pleaser bets can be really profitable if you know how to use them. They’re exotic forms of parlay bets, but curiously, they can be played in such a way that your odds are better than with a standard parlay card wager. Find pleasers and teasers at online sportsbooks all over the world – and be sure to shop around. Sometimes a slightly better line makes all the difference to your profit margin.