Every online sportsbook offers teasers, in which you buy points for a parlay ticket. Each of the teams that you pick on your parlay is given the extra points that you’ve purchased.
If you play a three-team NFL parlay, you might choose the Giants at +3.5, Packers at -7.5, and the Broncos at -2.5. Let’s say you purchase a 6-point teaser. The odds on each team are adjusted accordingly.
The following are the results of your 6-point teaser:
- Giants originally at +3.5 with 6 points are now +9.5
- Packers originally at -7.5 with 6 points are now -1.5
- Broncos originally at -2.5 with 6 points are now +3.5
The sports bettor now has a much better edge. The bettor also gets a much lower payout. As an example, on a 6-point teaser where you bet $20, your winnings would be $34, which means you’d get back, after the juice, about $52. Betting using a standard parlay, you stand to win $120. The teaser cuts your profit by more than 50%.
Pleaser Basics
The pleaser takes the teaser concept and turns it upside down. With the pleaser, the sports bettor is giving up points. That means that they are increasing their risk in an attempt to greatly increase their profit.
Using our original example for the teaser, let’s see what a please would do using a 6-point pleaser:
- Giants originally at +3.5 with 6 points less are now -2.5
- Packers originally at -7.5 with 6 points less are now -13.5
- Broncos originally at -2.5 with 6 points less are now -8.5
On a $100 bet with this type of pleaser, you would win around $1,550. A standard 3-team parlay would pay about $600, so the pleaser increases your payout by about 2.5 times the standard parlay.
The Pleaser May Please You
It’s right there in the name: Pleaser bets can be very pleasing. However, sports bettors need to remember that they are greatly increasing their risk with this type of bet, so they should use pleasers judiciously.
Finding the right teams for a pleaser ticket involves astute research and handicapping. You must be able to recognize when point spreads are drastically off, which is not an easy thing to do. Professional bookmakers who set the spreads are usually pretty good at what they do.
When to Use the Pleaser
There are times to utilize the pleaser bet, but you must first recognize matchups where the pleaser can be applied with confidence. Plus, because you are greatly increasing your risk, you want to use this type of bet when you are on a winning streak and ahead of the game. Although the increased odds may look tempting if you have been losing, the fact is taking greater risks when you’re bleeding cash is always a very bad idea.
Make smart betting choices whenever you put cash down on a game, and be especially careful and savvy when playing a pleaser.