Online Sports Betting- Betting Pleasers

Along with straight bets on pointspreads, total lines and moneylines, top-rated online sportsbooks such as HRWager also offer a full line of specialty bets that are sometimes referred to as exotics.

The most popular exotic sports bet is the parlay. This groups together two or more games into a single bet. A winning play offers a much higher payout that a single straight bet. However, they can be difficult to collect since every pick needs to be a winner or a PUSH (tie).

Two variations of a parlay play are teasers and pleasers. The basic premise behind a teaser is moving the pointspread in your favor on every game played. The payout is lower than standard parlay odds but your chances to win increase.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum are pleasers. In this bet, you move the spread against your favor for a much higher return on investment. Pleasers are pure gambling at its best so you should only be betting money you can afford to lose.

Suppose you really like Kansas City as a seven-point favorite against Denver and Green Bay as a three-point favorite against Minnesota. You happen to believe that each of the favorites are going to win their games with relative ease.

You could turn this bet into a two-team pleaser by moving the spread six points. This gives you Kansas City -13 points and Green Bay -10 points. If both those teams go on to cover the double-digit spread, you would win your bet.

Most online sportsbook count a PUSH (tie) as a loss in this type of bet, so you would need to win both games to collect.

The average payoff on a two-team parlay is 2.6-to-1. The payoff on a two-team teaser moving the spread six points in your favor is 1-to-1 even money. The betting odds on a two-team pleaser moving the spread six points the other way is 6-to-1.

You should always consult the payoff odds for any bet at the online book where it will be placed. There are some slight variances throughout the sportsbook industry.

As you can see, playing pleasers is the ultimate risk vs. reward wager. The ideal play is just two teams and a six point move due to the degree of difficulty. The probability of winning this particular play is measured at just 14.29 percent. Adding more teams and more points makes the winning probability much lower.

Pleaser Betting Strategies

There are different betting strategies you can use to play pleasers. At the root of any strategy is the confidence level you have in your picks.

When betting favorites, you need to find games that will end in a lopsided rout. This means a three or four touchdown victory that takes the pointspread completely out of play even if it is 13 or 14 points.

Another important part of the strategy is understanding numbers. The pointspread is a handicapping tool that aims to turn any straight bet into a 50/50 proposition. When you increase that spread by six points, the numbers shift to 38.8 percent for your side of the bet and to 61.2 percent in the bookie’s favor.

The general takeaway would be to avoid pleasers altogether because this is a low probability play. However, savvy players who take the time to study the numbers on a regular basis should be able to uncover a few opportunities here and there.