Strategy & Theory: Teasers and Ifs

Sports bettors typically look at anything outside of flat bets and parlays as exotic type bets.  While these are the two most common bet types, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t know how to (properly) utilize other types of wagers.  

We think that there are a couple of other types of plays that make sense to utilize in the right situations.  The first type of bet is known as a teaser.  Basically, a teaser is a type of parlay that allows you to modify the points in the direction of your choosing for each leg of the bet.  For example, let’s say you had a 7 point teaser.  You like Team A -7 1/2 points and Team B +6 points.  Utilizing this type of wager makes your bet now Team A -1/2 point and Team B +13 points.  Sounds great, right?  For this additional swing in points, the book pays out well less than standard parlays without the teaser feature.  So when should we utilize this type of wager?  We think it is best when you are looking to get multiplied odds with less risk.   Not every parlay needs to pay 2.6:1 or 6:1.  Some can pay less if they are multiplying your payout by a factor.  Also, assuming utilization of a standard bet size, this also creates less downside risk to your bankroll.

The second exotic we are going to look at is IF bets.  This is where you place action on anywhere from 2 - 7 teams, typically.  The bets are placed in an order, and if your first bet wins, the standard bet size goes to the second game.  If that bet wins, the standard bet size goes to the next game, and so on until all bets are completed or one bet loses.  Notice that this is not a parlay.  The second bet gets placed IF the first bet wins.  With this type of wager, you typically need to win the first two games to come out ahead.  Assuming a $100 standard bet size, you would win $91 (-110) for each consecutive win, with only risking your initial $100.  So how should these be played?  The best way to pick your order is by confidence, not chronological.  The time a game starts has no bearing on the order you pick it.  You can’t win the next bet until you win the first bet.  

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