Sports Books, the temples of betting sports in Las Vegas, are littered with long, pink, yellow or white cards with titles like "Super Teaser", "Ties Win Teaser", or "Super Duper Teaser Special" or any other kind of schmaltzy marketing title to hook in the unsuspecting sports bettor.
On first glance, these wager vehicles seem to good to be true. If this weekend's game happens to have USC giving 8 points against Oregon, you might not be so inclined to make the bet as USC would have to win by a touchdown AND another score for you to collect your winnings. But wait, those funky little teaser cards show USC GETTING 2 points as the underdog!!! How is this possible? You've just GOT to take that bet, right? And that, my friends is the reason the sports books have teaser cards.
Here are the basic rules of a teaser card: The lines on the games on the schedule are all adjusted by at lease 8 - 10 points, depending on the card rules. This means that the favorite is given a major reduction in the points that they have to "cover" for the win. This also means that the underdogs are padded with an even greater cushion of points that they can lose by and still provide a winning pick. So, what's the catch? The catch on these cards is you have to make at least 4 picks and ALL of the picks have to be winners for you to collect anything.
Now, here is the sad reality of sports betting: Even with adjusted spreads like these, it is very difficult to correctly pick four out of four games. These teaser cards are designed, of course, to entice you to make a bet you might otherwise would never have made. They are the equivalent of the blinking lights on top of a row of slot machines. They are screaming at you across the casino and grabbing your attention. But don't waste your nickel… it's not worth it.
The right way to bet a teaser bet.
Despite the dubious nature of the teaser cards, there exists an actual and legitimate way to use teaser rules to your advantage when betting sports. Just walk right past those silly cards and step up to the window. Ask the attendant for a two-team teaser and name your teams. Here's what you'll get: Say you want the Lakers and the Celtics on a two team teaser, and the Lakers are 3 point favorites against the Heat, and the Celtics are 8 point dogs against the Cavs. Your bet would then be: Lakers +1 and Celtics +12. On a standard, 2 team teaser in basketball adjusts the spread by four points. In football the spread adjusts 6 points.
Oh, one last catch: For the privilege of playing a teaser bet, you have to pay "Double Juice" to the book. In other words, for a standard, one team bet against the spread, you have to bet the equivalent of $110 for every $100 you want to win. The extra $10 is the "Juice". For a 2-team teaser, you pay $120 for every $100 bet.
All in all, teaser bets can be a great way to minimize risk and maximize winnings when
betting sports at a casino. Equipped with the basic knowledge and a good strategies, you can beat the book in the long run by being a better bettor, instead of just another gambler.
Lawrence O'Connor is an avid sports fan and blogger. He only bets in Vegas and only a couple of times a year. His Betting Sports blog and podcast are updated daily.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
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2 comments:
I admire you and thank you for trying to wake people up with all the great information you are putting out there.
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You can use teasers very effectively if you are wise about it. Try this NFL handicapping site - they have a decent strategy and have some good results.
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