Basketball Teaser Calculator

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Betting College Basketball Teasers
by Robert Ferringo - 11/17/2009

In Basketball, we offer 4, 4.5 and 5 point teasers on both NBA and College Basketball. A teaser allows the player to add points on an underdog’s point spread or subtract points from a favorite. A minimum of two teams must be selected for a valid teaser and all selections must cover the spread for the teaser to win. The most commonly wagered basketball teaser is 5 points. Most bettors typically bet basketball teasers between 4 and 6 points. However, there still may be wagers that offer a positive return on investment for players at 5.5-point and above. It all depends on the odds offered.

Betting college basketball teasers is a lot like using dynamite. In the wrong hands, someone is likely to lose an arm and a leg. But in the hands of a trained professional you can do some pretty cool stuff.

As sports handicapper, I work teasers into my repertoire of both football and basketball handicapping. While many professionals scoff at the feasibility of successfully using these prop wagers in a long-term betting strategy I feel that I have proven that betting college basketball teasers can work if used properly.

For those of you that aren't aware, a teaser bet is a wager that involves two or more teams in a single bet, where the gambler can pick up 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0 points on the spread. For instance, if I chose to tease Syracuse at -7 and Georgia Tech at +4 I can shift the line to as much as Syracuse -2 and Georgia Tech +9. I have 'teased' the lines in my favor, with the stipulation that both games must come through in order for us to get paid.

Depending on the juice and the size of the tease the juice on the wager shift anywhere from -110 to -140.

Now, why would someone decide to start betting college basketball teasers? In my opinion a teaser isn't an attempt to beat the oddsmakers. In fact, the reason that I like teasing games is because I have so much respect for the oddsmakers and the incredible accuracy of their lines.

The books aren't trying to predict the outcome. They are simply trying to balance the action. However, in my experience a good many games fall dangerously close - within a bucket or two either way - of the actual spread. And that's what has me sweating out the last two minutes of a 22-point blowout or gets my heart racing for free throws in the last 20 seconds of games. So my first reason for betting teasers is that if the oddsmakers are razor sharp than we can really skew the numbers in our favor and make that cushion pay out.

I also am a proponent of teasers in football in certain instances. But I feel as if a basketball teaser actually offers the player more value than using one on the gridiron. Even though you can shift a line between six and seven points in a football teaser that represents only one score in a game. That is just one fluke play, random special teams score, or turnover returned for a touchdown from nullifying your cushion. But in basketball the four or five points represents at least a two-possession cushion for the player. And while that seems trivial I can assure you, if I just had one or two extra possessions in a lot of my games I may never lose!

Just like anything in gambling and professional handicapping, knowing when to use a teaser is as much based on feel as it is any type of statistical matrix. There are plenty of instances in which I like (or dislike) a certain team or outcome. And sometimes I'm simply on the fence because I had the number going a couple points either way. Those are generally the games that I target as 'teaser worthy'.

Further, I like to use teasers when I have top plays on the board as sort of a hedge against a gut-wrenching beat. I have seen and been the victim of beats that would make Jimmy 'The Greek' roll over in his grave. So in certain instances I consider a tease on my top plays as a form of insurance.

One example was Monday night. My two top plays were Hofstra (-7) and Charlotte (-11.5). I had one rated as a 2-Unit Play and the other a 3-Unit Play. However, a sinking suspicion came over me that while I liked both spots the numbers were really tricky and worth getting down. So I threw in a teaser on both games for 1.5 Units, which gave me Hofstra (-2) and Charlotte (-6.5). Well, Hofstra was up eight points with eight seconds to play, only to watch Yale knock down a meaningless three-pointer. The Pride won by just five points and our side was sunk by a tough, tough beat. However, because of the savvy teaser play on the game I still managed to earn a decent profit, as opposed to the modest one that I would have settled for after getting backdoored.

Another situation in which I like to use teasers is to offset heavy line movements. A perfect example of how this can be effective was the Louisiana-Monroe game against LSU last Friday night. This game was released from the LVSC with UL-Monroe as a 22-point underdog. I instantly circled the game as one of my favorite plays of the evening. However, overnight the line had plummeted to Monroe +17.5. Well, in my eyes that completely changed the value of the wager. However, by employing a five-point teaser I was essentially able to buy back the five points while pairing it with another dog that had been taking heavy action (Wofford). Wofford covered easily against Pittsburgh, but Monroe ended up losing by 20 points. Had we not teased that game up we would have split with our two puppies and lost the juice. Instead, we earned the cash.

Those are some situations in which a teaser can be a decent value wager. But not every bet calls for a teaser. And while I just gave an example of two situations in which these plays worked out in my favor there have been numerous times where they actually cost me a winning night.

One situation in which you never, ever want to use a teaser is on a totals play. If you are teasing a spread from +5 to +10 you have exponentially increased the odds of your wager winning. (You may think you have doubled your odds, but it doesn't work like that.) However, if you try to tease a total you are essentially dumping a glass of water in the Pacific Ocean. If you tease a total that is, say, 125.0 than you have only adjusted the total by four percent. Considering that you have shifted the juice on your wager by 16 percent (from -110 to -130) you are on the wrong end of the numbers here.

Also, I don't recommend teasing a game through 'Pick' or teasing a game that's +/-2 or less. Just because a game is posted at -1.5 doesn't mean that it's going to be a close game. Again, the books aren't trying to predict the outcome with the spreads. And in my experience these games are just as likely to be decided by eight or 10 points as they are four or five.

Finally, don't play a game because you don't like the number where it's at but you suddenly like it when you're getting four or five more points. That generally doesn't end well. If you don't like a number there is a reason for it and shifting the spread a few points doesn't always make it a better play. The games I tease are - generally speaking - games in which I would feel confident betting the side as it is.

Remember: when you are betting college basketball teasers you are counting on the skill of the oddsmakers, not trying to trump it. Be judicious with these plays and the teaser can be a valuable weapon in your gambling arsenal.

Robert Ferringo is a professional handicapper and he has gained nearly +300 Units over the past three college basketball seasons. You can purchase his college basketball picks here.

Seasoned bettors are likely familiar with the teaser bet. But some beginning bettors might not know what these unique and exotic sports wagers entail. We are here to explain everything about a teaser bet; what it is, how it works, and the best way to use this option in your overall sports betting strategy.

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 . What makes teasers unique, however, is that you get to adjust the odds in your favor. A typical NFL or college football teaser, for example, is six points. That means that you get to subtract six points the spread of a favorite and add six points to the spread of an underdog. For example, a -13 favorite would become -7 in a six-point teaser, while a +8 underdog would become +14.

Doc's Sports offers free NFL teaser picks and predictions every week of the pro football season. Check our homepage weekly during the season!

Teaser Sports Betting: Teaser Bet Explained

Online sportsbooks allow for up to 10-team teasers, or sometimes more, with odds greatly increasing, and some sportsbooks allow for up to 10-point to 13-point sweetheart teasers where a bettor drastically changes the line in exchange for drastically lower odds.

While football and basketball are the two main sports with which sportsbooks offer teaser bets, not all teasers are created equal. Just think about the numbers for a moment. The average NBA total is above 200 combined points for both teams. And the average NFL total is in the 40s. But the standard football teaser (at anywhere from -110 to -120 juice, depending on the sportsbook) allows you to move the spread six points for each matchup on the ticket, while a basketball teaser offers only 4.5 points at the same odds. There is obviously a lot more scoring in a basketball game, but you have to pay more for the extra points. That's why most sharp bettors stay away from basketball teasers and stick with six-point football teasers, which we will discuss in more detail later in this article.

How Does a Teaser Bet Work?

The payout in a teaser doesn't change because of the teams involved - the payout is at a fixed number depending on the number of teams and the number of points for each segment. Each sportsbook sets their own teaser odds, though, and they can vary widely from book to book. When you are placing a teaser bet, it's imperative to shop around to find the best payout odds for the number of teams you are betting. Some sportsbooks generally have better teaser payouts than others. Over the long run, a difference in payout can obviously make a big difference to the bottom line, so looking for the best deal is crucial. The odds you want for football teasers are -110 for a two-team, six-point teaser. However, many sportsbooks found that offering this juice opened them up to risk from sharp bettors, so many books raised their price to -115 or even -120 for this teaser bet variation.

Teaser Bet Tie or Push

This is the single biggest rule that you need to be aware of -- how the book handles ties or a push. There are four different ways that a book can handle it if one of your games ends exactly on the number. Some books treat a tie as a win. Others reduce the number of teams in the teaser by one -- if you bet a four-team teaser and have a tie and three wins, then it will pay off like a three-game teaser. Others will treat a teaser with a tie as no action -- they'll return your bet -- as long as you win your other bets. Finally, some books will treat a tie as a loss. Each of those is a very different situation and can affect your return significantly. You need to be aware of what the book offers and make sure that it fits your needs. There isn't necessarily one situation that is better than another, but you need to make sure that the potential return adequately reflects the risk you are taking.

NFL Betting Teaser with Example

Sharp bettors generally stay away from basketball teasers, as previously stated, and also normally avoid college football teasers in favor of NFL teasers. We already talked about the perils of hoops teasers, but for college football there are many more points scored in general than in professional football, removing the value out of the extra six points you get in a matchup. There are also more blowouts in college football. NFL betting lines are considered the sharpest in the sports betting industry, meaning the oddsmakers set the tightest lines on the games. So, therefore, getting the six points on a matchup creates great value for the bettor when many games end up close to the point spread. There are many NFL games where both sides of a teaser hit as well as both sides of the total. The following is an example:

Teaser Odds

Original Spread:

Kansas City Chiefs -10 vs. Las Vegas Raiders, Total 52

Final Score: Chiefs 30, Raiders 21

The Four Possible Six-Point Teaser Options:

Chiefs -4, Raiders +16, Over 46, Under 58

In this example, all six-point teasers for this game were a winner.

Basketball Teaser Calculator

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Basketball Teaser Calculator Formula

Best Teaser Bets NFL: Basic Strategy Teasers

A popular strategy implored by most casual bettors is to tease favorites down so that they are closer to a pick'em and to tease a total down and take the over. A smarter strategy used by professional bettors is to make the most of the allotted points in the teaser. In what is known as a Basic Strategy Teaser or a Wong Teaser , bettors use the six points in the teaser to move the line past the two main key numbers in professional football, which are three and seven. An example of this would be moving a favorite of -8 down to a favorite of -2, thereby moving past the three and the seven, and moving an underdog of +2 points to +8. So many NFL games fall on these two key numbers, so moving the points past these key numbers gives the bettor a nice chance for profit.

Teaser Bet Calculator

Unfortunately for bettors, most sportsbooks raised the juice for a two-team, six-point Basic Strategy Teaser because the sharp bettors were consistently winning. The Expected Value was too great for the bettor at -110 vig. Therefore, the sportsbooks increased their juice on these Wong teasers to -115 or even -120 in some cases, removing most of the value and potential for long-term profit.

Basketball Teaser Calculator Percentage

Are Teaser Bets Worth It?

It depends. Most smart bettors avoid NBA, college hoops and NCAA football teasers altogether. But I do know some sharp guys who use teasers in these sports on a regular basis with success. Personally, I play only NFL teasers, and, unless in very rare circumstances, I play only the Basic Strategy Teaser variety. I have found that I hit a high enough percentage of these bets that I can achieve profit even at -115 or -120 juice.