How To Bet A Parlay At A Sportsbook
A teaser is a sports bet that is similar to placing a parlay bet. Both types of wagers are made by selecting two or more events to occur. Like a traditional parlay, each event selected for a teaser must win in order for the player to win to win the bet.
All multi-event wagers have the potential for larger wins but teasers don’t pay as much as a parlay. The attraction to teasers might be that they appear easier to win.
The main item that separates a teaser from a traditional parlay is that a bettor may alter point spreads and over/under totals between 4 and 10 points depending on the sport and teaser. Changing the point spread and point total make the wagers appear to be easier to win.
Winning multiple bets, no matter the point spread is never easy. However, the adjusted lines should help bettors find a little more confidence in their bets. The payout from the sportsbook for a teaser is lower than a parlay since these are anecdotally easier to win.
How a teaser works
Parlay Bets A 'Parlay' bet is a bet placed on multiple outcomes to occur. For a Parlay bet to win, all outcomes within the Parlay must be selected correctly. The odds for each pick are multiplied by one another to determine the odds for the Parlay. Make A Parlay Wager To make this a parlay wager, click the Parlay tab at the top of your Bet Slip. Once you do, Parlay will be underlined in green, and your wager will become a parlay. A parlay bet is a single wager that requires two or more outcomes to all win. The parlay calculator allows you to input your stake & odds in American formats to quickly calculate the payout for.
A standard two-team parlay with both teams listed at (-110), would pay out at +260. Note: A +260 payout for a two-team parlay at standard -110 odds is standard across all the online sportsbooks we review. Start choosing wagers for your parlay and your selections will show up here. A parlay is a single sports wager that involves two or more bets combined into one. This can include point spreads, moneylines, totals, futures, or even prop bets, as long as the bets are on different games.
A teaser isn’t too difficult to understand after seeing how the point moving works. The easiest way to comprehend a teaser is to see an example. For simplicity, we’ll use a six-point teaser for football games:
Original wager options:
- New England Patriots +3 (-110) at Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Rams +3 (even) at New Orleans Saints
A two-team six-point teaser on the underdogs would change the point spreads to the following:
How To Bet A Parlay At A Sportsbook Betting
- New England Patriots +9 at Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Rams +9 at New Orleans Saints
A two-team six-point teaser on the favorites would change the point spreads to the following:
- New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs +3
- Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints +3
A $10 parlay with the original point spreads would pay approximately $27.70. A $10 six-point teaser would pay $8.35. The same teaser will pay less if the point spreads or totals are teased by 6.5 or 7 points.
The process for selecting totals on a teaser is similar.
All sportsbooks offer a variety of teaser cards for football season. Football games can be teased by 6, 6.5, or 7 points. Some casinos offer 10 point teasers but only for a total of three sides and/or totals.
Sportsbooks offer teasers for basketball as well. However, they offer fewer basketball teaser cards than football. Basketball games can be teased by 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, or 6 points.
Placing a teaser in person
A teaser in a land-based casino can be done in two ways. A player simply can tell the ticket writer how much they’d like to wager, how many points they’d like to tease and the point spread and totals that they would like to tease. It’s rare to see a person bet a teaser in person like this.
The in-person process can be confusing and time-consuming. Most teaser bets in land-based casinos are placed using a teaser card. Filling out a card in advance of visiting the sportsbook desk is a quick way to complete the transaction since all of the information is already filled in.
Casinos offer a variety of parlay and teaser cards. Make sure to read the rules and payout before choosing a card.
Betting teaser cards
Casino operators have different computer systems for parlays and teasers so the process might be different at certain casinos. Most teaser cards have fixed point spreads and Over/Under totals. In this case, the information on the card won’t change when a teaser bet is placed.
Some sportsbook operators might use a “live line” even though a teaser card lists a specific line from the morning. This allows the casino to change the point spread or point total based on what the current line is when the teaser is placed.
The ticket writer will ask the player if they’re okay with the changes before finalizing the bet. This process can be intimidating for new bettors when a sportsbook is busy and the lines are long. Bettors don’t have to accept the new lines and shouldn’t be afraid to decline the line changes.
Placing a teaser at an online sportsbook
Placing a teaser at an online sportsbook might be the easiest way to make this kind of wager. A teaser can be made simply by selecting the teams and totals, selecting “teaser,” and choose how many points to tease.
Online teaser cards make the process even more simple. The teaser card will show the adjusted point spreads and totals for each card. The player simply chooses between two and eight sides or totals then selects how much they’d like to wager. Just enter “submit” and confirm the bet. That’s all it takes to bet a teaser online.
Teaser Payouts
Once a bet is placed, the odds paid remain fixed no matter what computer system a sportsbook uses. Teaser payouts are smaller than traditional parlays.
For example, a two-team point spread parlay might pay 2 to 1 odds if both events are winners for the player. Meanwhile, a two-team teaser might pay -110 if both events are winners.
The more points used to tease lines, the less the payout will be. A six-point teaser might return 10-11, while a 6.5-point teaser only returns 10-12, and a seven-point teaser returns 10-13.
Actual pay schedules vary by teaser type and sportsbook. Check the pay schedule before placing a teaser or any other bet.
Find the odds of winning your sports bet parlay with the free parlay calculator (with push) below.
How to Use the Parlay Calculator
Enter your wager amount and odds (yellow fields) for each leg of the parlay and you will see your potential profit, equivalent American and Decimal odds, as well as the implied win probability of your parlay bet.
For a single bet, enter odds in American format. A minus sign (-) indicates a favorite while a plus sign (+) indicates an underdog.
Moneyline odds are the most common bets in a parlay, however you can select any type of bet. A money line bet is a wager on which team you think will win. Therefore money line bets are the most straight forward and easiest to interpret, especially when there are multiple in a parlay.
See Your Parlay Odds with Bets that Push
How To Bet A Parlay At A Sportsbook Game
You can also check the Push boxes if your bet has pushed. Checking this box will adjust the parlay odds to account for the fact that you have pushed a given bet.
A “push” or tie, means that your bet will not cause your parlay to be graded as a loss. Instead that leg of the parlay will basically be ignored when calculating the payout of your parlay.
A bet could push if you bet on a point spread or total that hit exactly. For example, if the New York Knicks were +8 against the Los Angeles Lakers and lost by exactly 8 points, that would be a push.
Parlay Payouts Chart
| Number of Bets in Parlay | Fair Payout (-110 Odds) | Fractional Odds | Fair Payout on a $10 Bet | Implied Win Probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Team Parlay | 3.64 | 2.64/1 | $36.45 | 27.4% |
| 3 Team Parlay | 6.96 | 5.96/1 | $69.58 | 14.4% |
| 4 Team Parlay | 13.28 | 12.28/1 | $132.83 | 7.5% |
| 5 Team Parlay | 25.36 | 24.36/1 | $253.59 | 3.9% |
| 6 Team Parlay | 48.41 | 47.41/1 | $484.13 | 2.1% |
| 7 Team Parlay | 92.42 | 91.42/1 | $924.24 | 1.1% |
| 8 Team Parlay | 176.45 | 175.45/1 | $1,764.46 | 0.6% |
| 9 Team Parlay | 336.85 | 335.85/1 | $3,368.52 | 0.3% |
| 10 Team Parlay | 643.08 | 642.08/1 | $6,430.82 | 0.2% |
Parlay Betting FAQ
How do you calculate parlay odds?
1. Convert all bets to decimal odds
2. Multiply the decimal odds of each bet together
3. Convert combined decimal odds back to American odds
How much will my parlay pay?
Your parlay pay out will depend on the odds and bet amount of each leg of your parlay. You can use the parlay calculator above to see exactly how much your parlay will pay given the odds of each bet in the parlay.
How much does a 10 team parlay pay?
A 10 team parlay will pay out 643 times your wager amount assuming each leg of the parlay has -110 odds. For example, if you place a $10 bet on a 10 team parlay, your pay out would be $6,430.
How To Bet A Parlay At A Sportsbook Odds
What does a $20 two team parlay pay?
A $20 two team parlay pays $72.89 assuming both legs of the parlay were bet at -110 odds. This would result in a profit of $52.89.
What happens when a bet in a parlay pushes?
When one leg of a parlay pushes (“ties”), then that bet is essentially excluded from the parlay without making the whole bet a loss. When calculating the parlay odds, that bet will essentially be removed from the equation.
Do you need to bet the money line to bet a parlay?
No, you can parlay almost any bet type. Money line bets are the most common, however you can also include point spreads, totals, props, etc.