What are Booking Points and How Do They Work?

If you’re new to booking points, then it may seem confusing. But betting on red cards and yellow cards is far easier than you’d expect.

Nearly every football match you watch will have red and yellow cards; in this article, we explain just how many points each card is worth and how they can be used in bets.

Bookings are important aspects of football betting; most bookmakers use the booking points betting system to allow punters to bet on the amount of booking points a player or team will get during a match.

You can attach booking points betting to your bet builder and combine them with various markets, read on for more details on how to use booking points betting in December 2024.

What are Booking Points?

Booking points is a system used by most bookmakers to determine the amount of yellow or red cards given to a player or team during a game – awarding a certain number of points per card.

This betting market can only be used during football betting and can be combined with other selections.

You can also book on red and yellow cards separately – picking out specific players to be booked. Booking points markets give customers the chance to bet on whether they think a specific game will feature lots of cards or not.

These points are also fantastic for boosting your odds when creating a Bet Builder. One red card and one yellow card have point totals, read on for details on ho much each card is worth.

How Many Booking Points Are Yellow and Red Cards Worth?

When using bookings betting markets, they usually work in booking points with each card being with a number of points.

One yellow card is worth 10 points, and a red card is worth 25 points. If a player is sent off with two yellows, they are awarded 35 booking points instead of 45, as the second yellow card does not count towards the booking points.

To summarise, here’s how many points each booking is worth:

• 1 Yellow Card = 10 points
• 1 Red Card = 25 points
• 2 Yellow Cards/1 Red Card = 35 points
• Straight Red Card = 25 points

What to Look Out for When Betting on Booking Points

When it comes to booking points betting, we would suggest studying both the teams involved in the game before placing any bets.

Statistics

Studying the stats can also help you make an informed decision on whether to bet on a certain team to get over a certain amount of booking points or to bet on the total booking points in a game.

Rivalry

A great game to research if you are a beginner in the booking points markets space is derby games, history shows that they are much more likely to produce more cards. This is because their is a history and rivalry within the fixture and players like to show much more effort and aggression for the fans in the stands.

It’s always worth noting local derbies down for football cards markets.

For example – Manchester City vs Manchester United is a local derby that often becomes heated and is therefore a favoured pick for booking markets and is popular among sports betting punters.

Bet Builder Bets

Bookings offer punters an excellent opportunity to create additional value on Bet Builders. When creating a Bet Builder you can combine your knowledge of booking markets with other selections from a game to create the best odds.

Referees

One thing that is vital to look out for is the referee for the fixture. When it comes to refereeing decisions it is universally accepted that not all laws are applied the same.

From your research you will find that there are referees who are known to give out much more cards than others, if you find one of these referees are refereeing a derby game for example, we would argue this is a great fixture to look at when it comes to betting on booking points.

Booking Points Betting Drawbacks

When it comes to betting on booking points it is vitally important to read the terms and conditions. One thing we have found that has tripped up new customers in the past is that cards shown to managers, coaching staff and players who have not entered the pitch, do not count towards the points total.

It is widely argued that VAR has had a negative impact on the Premier League and it has also made points betting much more complex.

Extra-time bookings do not count towards the booking points tally.

VAR is unable to intervene when it comes to yellow cards, so VAR is unable to help you if you are close to winning a booking points bet and an obvious yellow card is missed by the on-field referee.

When it comes to red cards they can be influenced by VAR, this could impact your booking points bet if you have backed a specific number of booking points but VAR may overturn a red card after a refereeing error. This can make booking points betting a roller coaster of emotions with cards being overturned.

Types of Booking Points Markets

When it comes to Booking Points betting, there are a wide variety of markets that you can take advantage of, listed below are some of the most common booking points markets we would suggest checking out:

Most Booking Points

The Most Booking Points Markets will have customers trying to predict which of the two teams will end the game with the most booking points.

Half Booking Points

The Half Booking Points market will lead you to predict how many points there will be in a specific half of football. The majority of bookmakers will give you the option of either first or second half when it comes to half booking points.

Stats show that more cards are usually awarded in the second half of a game, this is usually reflected in the odds that are provided. You will usually have to wager on shorter odds if you believe the second half will see the most bookings , whereas wagering on the first half will provide longer odds.

Home/Away Booking Points

The Home/Away Booking points market is a great market to look at if you think one of the teams will be particularly cautious or aggressive, an example of this is a side away from home being more cautious as they don’t want to throw the game away or give up any easy set pieces which the opponent could take advantage of.

Players to Be Booked

The players to be booked market has become very popular. You will be given a list of all the available players in the game alongside their odds of picking up a booking. You can also bet on the first booking and which player will receive it.

This is something you can definitely take advantage of if you think that a specific player is particularly combative on the pitch, an example of this would be a defender who walks the tightrope of being both aggressive in the tackle or completely taking out an opponent with a tactical foul.

Booking Points Ranges

When it comes to Booking Points Betting, it is common to use a range system. This will see you given options like 0-20 Booking Points, 21-40 Booking Points and 41+ Booking Points.

Bet on how many points you predict will be reached during a match and place bets on your pick. You will want to find the most likely outcome and what market offers the better value.

Other Booking Points Markets

• Time of the First/Last Card – You will bet on when the first or last card is given, usually from a series of time ranges
• The team to receive the First/Last Card – You will bet on which side you think will receive the first and last booking
• Total Cards Odd/Even – You will be on whether the total number of cards in the game will be odd or even
• Player to be sent off – You will bet on a specific player to be sent off during a game

Booking Markets Offered by Bookmakers and Review

When it comes to booking points betting each betting company uses different rules, we would suggest looking into the terms and conditions of each site before you place any bets.

Sky Bet Booking Points Explained

Sky Bet uses the classic booking points method, which is explained above. You are able to bet on the number of booking points in a game, a specific team’s booking points and which team will receive the most booking points.

You can also bet on a player to receive a card, Sky Bet has introduced a new market on player fouls which may be worth looking into if a referee is particularly reluctant to dish out cards.

You can also land free bets credited to your account when you join SkyBet.

How Many Booking Points is a Yellow Card on Sky Bet?

Sky Bet, like other bookmakers has yellow cards worth 10 points each. A red card is 25 points and two yellow cards for the same player equal 35 points.

Bet365 Booking Points Explained

bet365 doesn’t use booking points to determine its booking markets. Instead, you can bet on teams to receive a card or two-plus cards.

They also offer you the opportunity to bet on which team will receive the first card as well as the timing of the first card and the minutes it will be shown in.

Bet365 football markets are prevalent – find all of your favourite bets using their latest offer.

Paddy Power Booking Points Explained

Similarly to bet365, Paddy Power doesn’t use the same booking points method so you bet on the number of cards that are shown in the game.

They offer a wide range of cards to be shown and you can even bet on over or under the amount of cards shown in a game. Get hold of the latest Paddy Power football promotions.

Betfred Booking Points Explained

Betfred uses booking points to determine its card markets. Betfred offers all the typical markets punters will be looking for when betting on cards. If you are feeling lucky, you can even bet on the exact amount of booking points you expect in a match or a specific team to receive.

Find out more about other football markets and ways to land free offers with Betfred football betting.

William Hill Booking Points Explained

Booking points are also used by William Hill to determine the vast majority of its card markets. However the only exception with William Hill is the total match card market.

William Hill is a stand-out bookmaker when it comes to the cards shown markets, in which you can bet on whether a card will be shown in each 15 minute period of a game, you can even bet on which team will receive it.

Find other William Hill football bets with our full guide.

Coral Booking Points Explained

Coral doesn’t offer booking points markets, however, you are still able to bet on which player will be booked first and if a specific player will receive a card in the game. Coral offers you the ability to cash out so you can protect you stake when betting in these markets.

Betfair Booking Points Explained

Betfair also doesn’t offer booking points for its card markets, however, we would suggest checking out there over or under for the specific number of cards.

Find Betfair football offers with the latest deals and promotions on football matches.

Ladbrokes Booking Points Explained

Ladbrokes is very much similar to Coral as it is part of the LadbrokesCoral group. A unique draw for Ladbrokes is its Bad Lads market where you can bet on two players in the game to be shown cards with very attractive odds.

Check out the Ladbrokes football bets with our full guide on their markets and competitive odds.

Summary – Final Thoughts

Booking points refer to how many bookings are made during a game – it’s a popular betting market for football matches and it’s a great way to boost your odds.

The points system allows you to bet on whether players or teams will accumulate red and yellow cards. If you feel a game is likely to be card-heavy then it’s a great time to start betting on booking points.

When betting on the points system – work out how many cards are needed for you to win your bet.