Common Sucker Bets & How to Avoid Them

Sportsbooks and casinos these days are filled with great action. The gambling public has gotten wise to many of the schemes these establishments have been running for years, resulting in more wagers with good odds.

However, the sucker bet still exists as sports bettors and casino-goers still insist on wagering on certain bets or games that carry no value. You really can’t blame the sportsbooks and casinos for taking advantage, but that doesn’t mean you have to play.

Here is a good rundown of what a sucker bet is and the sucker bets to avoid.

What is a sucker bet?

A sucker bet is any wager where your risk significantly outweighs your reward. Sucker bets come in all shapes and sizes.

They are often confusing and take attention away from where it should be. You can find them in the casino as well as the sportsbook, and the trick they all use to lure suckers in is a small wager that results in a huge payout.

What is the biggest sucker bet?

By far, the greatest sucker bet of all time is the lottery. A perfect examples of a sucker bet is all of those mega-zillion, multi-state, super-duper drawings where you have a better chance of being struck by lightning twice on the way to buy your daily ticket than actually winning the thing.

This is all risk and no reward. There are literally millions of people completely dedicated to these games, and they never miss a day.

Sure, tickets only cost a dollar or two, so what is the harm of throwing down a few bucks every day for the chance to win hundreds of millions of dollars? Well, because a dollar or two here and a dollar or two there add up to real amounts of money that could be used to more profitable ends.

Playing the lottery is setting your money on fire because you will never win. All risk and, absolutely, no reward. Now, that’s a perfect sucker bet.

Worst sucker bets at a sportsbook

Sucker bets exist everywhere, as it is pretty easy to lure people in with the promise of a big payout, and this is true for online sportsbooks too. Here are some examples of wagers to avoid in sportsbooks.

Proposition bets

Also known as props or prop bets, proposition bets are some of the biggest sucker bets in the sportsbooks. They don’t even have good odds, but the real problem with these wagers is that they are based on arbitrary factors of a game instead of the game itself. Plus, these wagers can be on anything.

Proposition bets are most popular during the Super Bowl, where sportsbooks have been known to post proposition wagers on the silliest things. For example, which team will win the coin flip, what commercial is first, or how long the national anthem will last.

Sure, you will find some proposition bets that require some knowledge to win, but mostly they are based on nothing more than luck with a bad payout to boot. Always avoid proposition bets and stick to the point spreads and moneylines.

Teasers and pleasers

Not only are teasers and pleasers both common sucker bets, but they are also very confusing. However — and you probably saw this coming — they do pay out great odds.

Not only that, but they also allow the player to move the point spreads and lines, making them that much more enticing. Sound too good to be true? That’s because it is. These wagers are terrible.

First of all, know that a teaser is like a parlay, as you’ll need to combine at least two or more games into your wager. Then, in the games you’ve combined, you are allowed to “tease” the line given by the sportsbook.

You can choose any amount of points, improving the spread or line. However, how much you tease the line will be reflected in the betting odds. Then, all the games you combined have to come in on the lines you teased.

A pleaser works the same way. However, instead of getting more points, you are giving more points. Of course, this results in a bigger payout, but it also makes it that much more difficult to win.

On paper, these both seem like very doable wagers, and the odds they produce are another big selling point. Don’t be fooled, though. Any wager that takes this much explanation is definitely a sucker’s bet.

To make matters worse, it’s one of those wagers you will constantly get close to winning but never quite pull off, and this only makes them more appealing somehow. Don’t fall victim to this sucker bet.

Worst sucker bets at a casino

Casinos are tough places to win, even on the good wagers. The house has the advantage in every game and, if you play long enough, you will eventually lose.

The key to casino gambling is to get in and out at just the right time. Another step in the right direction is avoiding these common sucker’s bets completely.

Most of the craps table

The game of craps is as exciting as it is confusing. Anyone who has seen a craps table can attest to this. The board itself is a complicated mess of wagers and side bets.

The action around the table is loud, crowded, and constant, and it’s all of these things that make craps so exciting. Plus, with a good roller, you can win a lot of money very quickly.

However, waiting for a good roller can be exhausting, both physically and financially. That said, craps is still a lot of fun.

When spending time at the craps table, be sure to stay away from most of the wagers on the board, as these are all sucker’s bets. Stick to betting with the roller or the house, as these wagers (pass/don’t pass, come/don’t come) have the lowest house edge in the casino.

That said, if you want to win over the long haul, you have to bet with the house. Of course, this won’t make you very popular at the table, but it’s the only way to win.

Blackjack side wagers

One of the newest innovations in casino table games is the addition of side wagers to blackjack tables. These side bets usually involve the dealer’s face-up card and the two cards you are dealt.

This side bet plays out before the blackjack play begins. Usually, these side bets will pay out if those first three cards make some kind of hand, such as three of a kind, straight, or flush.

The odds seem great, and the game appears winnable. So, how is this a sucker’s bet?

First of all, the odds these side wagers pay out do not match the odds of drawing them. If one of these side wagers pays out at 50 to 1, you probably have a one in 800 chance of drawing it.

Sure, 50 to 1 sounds great, but not when you’re never going to draw it. Every payout works to this end.

Secondly, and more importantly, you’ll notice people will begin to pay more attention to the side wager than the hand of blackjack. This makes absolutely no sense.

Blackjack is one of the best casino games in the house as far as odds and the house edge go, and that should be where the focus is — not on the side bet. Never put your money down on these things, as they are a huge distraction and a bigger waste of money.

Roulette green 0 and 00

By far, the easiest game in the casino is roulette. Everyone can win at this game, as it relies on nothing more than luck. There is no such thing as strategy or expertise at a roulette table.

However, because of this, roulette will pay you out at decent odds when your number hits. After all, 35 to 1 on the number and 3 to 1 on the row is nothing to sneeze at. However, even with a game so simple, the sucker bet still exists.

The green 0 and 00 are great sucker bets in roulette for no other reason than why people bet them. Since these are the only green numbers on the board, they stick out in people’s minds.

When you think about it, the green 0 and 00 have as much of a chance of landing as red 23 or black 33. However, there is a stigma against green 0 and 00 because they will ruin a black/red bet.

Because of this stigma, players will constantly put a little extra money on both the green 0 and 00 or split both of them, just in case.

This makes no sense, and is a complete waste of money. Either bet it or don’t, but don’t bet on these to “protect” your other bets because then, you’d have to bet on every other number and/or color.

Place your bets and see if you win; that’s all roulette has to be.