Pleaser Bets

Pleasers are similar to teasers, except lines are moved in the opposite direction. Both bets consist of two or more parlay-style wagers, but pleaser bets offer improved payouts in exchange for worse lines. Like parlays, all individual wagers must win in order for the pleaser to pay out.

Pleasers are some of the most exciting sports bets available. They offer the highest payouts, but come at the price of carrying the worst odds; think high risk, high reward. You are most likely to find pleaser bets at an online betting site, since their complexity and degree of difficulty does not attract the casual bettors most casino sportsbooks target.

How They Work

As mentioned above, pleaser bets are essentially the opposite of teasers. Bettors adjust the point spreads and/or totals against their favor and are in turn given a higher payout. To illustrate exactly how these bets work, we have included an example below.

If you feel that both the Packers and Cowboys will not only cover their spreads, but substantially exceed them, a pleaser could be used to increase your payout. If you take a 7-point pleaser, the spreads would be adjusted to Packers (-13) and Cowboys (-11) [-6 - 7 and -4 - 7, respectively].

A standard parlay wager comprised of the point spreads above may payout 2.6/1, but would payout 8/1 for a pleaser bet. This means you would win $80 on a $10 pleaser instead of winning $26 on a parlay. While the pleaser requires a two-score win by both teams, you can see the payout is drastically improved. The more teams you wager, the greater the improvement, though you assume more risk.

Pleaser Payouts

This is where the pleaser shines. Payouts on a ten-team pleaser bet can approach astronomical levels, but the odds of winning are also astronomically against you. A typical gambling site's payout schedule for a 7-point football pleaser may look something like this:

2 Teams - 8/1
3 Teams - 25/1
4 Teams - 60/1
5 Teams - 150/1
6 Teams - 450/1
7 Teams - 700/1
8 Teams - 1000/1
9 Teams - 1350/1
10 Teams - 1750/1

Remember, these are parlay-style bets. If you place a ten team pleaser, you must win all ten individual bets or else the entire pleaser is lost. This, combined with decreased odds, is what drives the payouts to such enticing heights.

Are They Worth It?

Pleaser bets are not easy to interpret and difficult to win. Their high risk, high reward nature makes them more of a lottery-style bet than a strategic wager. We don't recommend them for novice bettors. Having said that, there are situations in which taking a worse line for a larger payout may not be a bad idea for advanced sports bettors.

Occasionally, lines offered by a casino sportsbook or gambling website are overly generous. So many factors affect every game that day-to-day unknowns leave the door open for such situations. In these rare cases, it may be worthwhile to opt for a higher payout and take the reduced lines. However, if you care about your bankroll, keep these bets to a minimum and limit them to as few teams as possible.