The Tweener – What is it? How Do I Bet it?
Scott Morris | November 22, 2021
The tweener bet, also known as “middling”, is where you place a bet on the same game but you place a bet on both sides of the game. You would only do this if the betting lines were far enough apart that you had a chance for the bet to land somewhere in the middle of the two hence cashing both bets.
A middle opportunity can happen if two different sportsbooks are offering numbers far apart. This can happen for various reasons and usually is most common early in the week when lines first launch. Or you can see a middling opportunity at the same sportsbook if you have already laid down your bet and the line drastically moves immediately after an injury is announced.
The beauty of this bet is that you are only risking your vig for a chance to win both bets. And if you play at a reduced juice sportsbook, this can be as little as a 5% risk.
There is also a better chance of getting this accomplished if you play at multiple sportsbooks and if they are in two different locations. For instance, your home-state sportsbook DraftKings may be showing team A is -7 but an offshore sportsbook such as BetUS may be showing that same team as -4. You would simply the +7 and -4 and now you have a three point middle.
Had an Example of a Tweener Today
Nebraska was published at -4 favorites over Iowa at Lincoln this week. Nebraska is just 3-8 (W/L) on the season and Iowa is 11-2, so bettors immediately jumped on this and bet the line down to Nebraska -2.5 points. But if you took Iowa +4 at launch, you now have the very unique opportunity to have an amazing 5.5 point tweener and here is why.
Earlier today it was announced that Nebraska’s starting QB Adrian Martinez will be out of the game this Friday with an injury. This made the point spread swing all the way over to Iowa -1.5 points. So if you bet Iowa +4 earlier you can now bet Nebraska +1.5 and hope it lands in the middle.
The only way you do not do this is if you are 100% certain Nebraska Fresh QB Logan Smothers has no chance to beat Iowa. After all he has had very few reps in his career. He is 7-11 for 119 yards and no TD’s and no Int’s. Me personally, I roll the dice on that tweener. Get some.
