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Sweetheart Teasers

Sweetheart teasers, also called monster teasers at some books, are special types of bets designed by the books to lure bettors in with the illusion of easy profits. While these bets do win from time to time, that does not mean you will hit them often enough to overcome the house edge.

Keep reading to learn why you’ll have a hard time winning with sweetheart teasers.

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What Is a Regular Teaser?

Before explaining how sweetheart teasers work, let’s quickly go over what a regular teaser is.

A regular, standard teaser involves anywhere from 2-15+ teams, and is a combination bet in which all bets must win for your bet to cash.

Pushes are handled differently from book to book. Some books grade them a loss and others reduce or remove that tie from the bet. Some books offer both options.

The teaser bet lets you add extra points to your spread. So if you like a team -10 and another team also -10, you can bet both teams at -3 instead, but now both bets must win or your bet loses. The juice ranges wildly from book to book and depends on how many teams are involved.

Line shopping is very important in teasers, and always remember to read over the rules to make sure pushes reduce or push the entire bet. Otherwise, the bet is probably offering poor value.

How Sweetheart Teasers Work

Now that we’ve gone over a regular teaser, we move on to the slightly more complicated sweetheart teaser. Here are three different sites (names removed) and their different prices, as well as rules regarding ties:

  • Book 1: 10-point, three-team teasers at -110 (ties lose)
  • Book 2: 10-point, three-team teasers at -120 (ties reduce)
  • Book 3: 10-point, three-team teasers at -120 (ties lose)

As you can see, it’s important to find a site with favorable rules to make your money last longer.

In this example, we can rule out Book 3 because Book 1 offers the same rules regarding ties but lower juice. So then it’s down to Book 1 and Book 2. In short, games don’t tie often enough to offset this higher juice, and you should avoid it.

A big difference between regular teasers and sweetheart teasers is that there generally are not any two-team sweetheart teasers offered. That one extra leg adds the very real chance that your bet will lose.

$100 bill and pencil on bet slip

How to Place a Sweetheart Teaser

Now we will show how to place a sweetheart teaser at an online sportsbook.

Step 1

Log In to Your Account

After completing the registration process and logging into your account, find the tab that lists ‘teasers’ or ‘exotics’. Again, sometimes these teasers are listed as ‘monster teasers’ or other colorful names.

Step 2

Compare the Latest Lines

Usually the sportsbook then prompts you to pick a sport, so you select the sport you want to bet from the menu. Then the book will either list the adjusted lines (based on how many points you want to adjust the line by), or simply list it’s normal lines before having you select the number of points you want to move the line.

Step 3

Confirm Your Teams and Points

Every book is slightly different, but most follow that same pattern. Of course, double check your bet before confirming it to make sure you have the correct teams and number of points. Then you’re ready to start sweating the action!

When to Tease Up or Down

Many players like to tease football games down to ‘capture’ key numbers such as 7, 10, and 14. This means that a team favored by 15 points can be bought down to -2.5 with the right bet. In effect, a team that is picked to win by more than two touchdowns now just has to win by a measly field goal and that leg is complete.

Other players enjoy teasing the lines ‘up’ to add a few touchdowns and give a slight underdog a better chance to cover. A lot of times using high spreads and adding to them does not appeal to most bettors, simply because most players do not properly assign the probabilities needed to make the bet.

This basically means that most people give 14+-point underdogs ‘no chance’ and don’t see the benefit in adding more points to that side. They prefer the ‘easy money’ of teasing down the favorite. Not to say either side is better than the other, as they are usually properly priced. But just remember to consider all sides when placing your bet.

Most books offer these sweetheart teasers on the NFL, NCAA football and basketball, and the NBA.

Three males celebrating winning mobile bet

Reasons to Avoid Sweetheart Teasers

As the number of teams added to the teaser goes up, so does the juice. Likewise for the number of points. As we can see, this truly cripples your chances to beat the book and plays right into their hands. Using some slightly complicated math, we come up with these numbers for an overall average of break even on teasers.

  • In three-team, 10-point teasers offered at -110, each selection needs to win 80.6% of the time.
  • In a four-team, 13-point teaser at -120, the break-even rate goes up to 85.9% for each leg.
  • Finally, in six-team, 21-point teasers offered at the standard -350, the break-even for each selection is a mind-blowing 95.9%!!

If you really think you can win 96%+ of the time, the sportsbooks will be happy to take your action (and your money). Be wise and generally avoid this type of wager unless you have done extensive research or have a specific reason for making the play beyond “it’s a lock!”

FAQs

What is a sweetheart teaser?

A sweetheart teaser combines 3-10 picks for either football or basketball wagers. You can adjust the point spreads or totals by a number of points and the odds change to reflect the new line. How many points you can adjust the line by depends on the sport and the number of teams in the teaser.

How many points is a sweetheart teaser?

The common point allowance for a regular football teaser is 6-7 points. It’s even lower for a regular basketball teaser at 4-5 points. With sweetheart teasers, you get 10 or 13 points in football and 8 or 10 points in basketball.

Are 10-point teasers worth it?

A three-team, 10-point teaser parlay pays slightly less than even money at -120. This means you win $100 for every $120 wagered. That’s not great value, but it’s important to remember that 10-point teasers are one of the more fun teasers because of the number of points you get and having action on multiple games.
Q.

What does a three-team, six-point teaser pay?

A.
You need all three teams to cover in order to win a six-point teaser bet. Most online sportsbooks pay 1.8 to 1 for winning three-team teasers, but it’s important to shop around for the best price.

About the author

Alan Penny

Editor-in-Chief

Alan hails from Northern Ireland and is an avid fan of all sports. He has been with us since 2017 and serves as SBO’s Editor-in-Chief. Alan passionately covers everything from the latest regulatory developments across the globe to tips on the latest football matches.

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T&C: The bonus code is only valid for a new customer's first deposit and must be redeemed immediately after the deposit and before a wager has been placed. The sum of the deposit and the bonus are subject to rollover requirements of 8x at min. odds of -200 (1.5) before a new bonus can be redeemed or a withdrawal can be made. Max. $1000 of each bet count towards the rollover requirements. Terms and Conditions apply. – Terms apply
Claimed by 239 people this week
Get 100% Up To $500
Terms and conditions: The bonus code is only valid for a new customer's first deposit and must be redeemed immediately after the deposit and before a wager has been placed. The sum of the deposit and the bonus are subject to rollover requirements of 8x at min. odds of -200 (1.5) before a new bonus can be redeemed or a withdrawal can be made. Max. $1000 of each bet count towards the rollover requirements. Terms and Conditions apply. – Terms apply