Booking points in football betting: What are they and how do they work?

Booking points are the numerical value attached to yellow and red cards brandished by the referee during a football match.

Yellow cards collect 10 points, a red card 25. If a player is shown a yellow card and then later collects a second booking that results in a red, 35 points are awarded.

They are not awarded points for three separate cards; the red card replaces the second yellow.

Bookmakers allocate lines to the number of points and attach odds accordingly, allowing bettors to wager over or under that line. Markets will be offered for lines on the entire game or by team.

For example, a line of over 50.5 betting points in a game would be successful if 55 betting points are collected during the match.

Despite not being as popular with bettors, thanks to the rise of the over/under card markets (LINK), booking points can still provide value and plenty of entertainment at the end of the match.

Positives of booking points

- Can be used to enhance odds in a bet builder

- Red cards carry a lot of points

- Markets can be competitive

- Negatives of booking points

- There are not many markets to bet on

 

How booking points are used?

When you place a bet on booking points, you are typically betting on the total number of points accumulated by yellow and red cards in a match. Some common betting markets include:

 

Total booking points - over/under

You can bet whether the total number of booking points will be over or under a specific value set by the bookmaker.

For example, a bookmaker might set the line at 40 booking points for a game, and you would bet on whether the total number of cards will result in more or fewer points than 40.

 

Exact number of booking points:

This is where you can predict the exact number of booking points that will be issued in the match, though this is much harder to predict.

 

Team booking points

The total number of booking points collected by a particular team during a match. This is usually define by over/under or exact.

 

Good betting strategies for booking points

Booking points are another market where a bit of research could do wonders. Selecting a high line for these kinds of encounters might be wise.

Here’s what to look for:

 

Derby games

Due to the intensity of these derby matches, more betting points can be accumulated than in a normal league fixture.

 

High stakes game

Cup games, relegation clashes or any match where something is on the line 

 

Matches with 'beef'

Games where two teams’ players have clashed in the past, or have rivalry from this season or historically.

Fans can play a big role in firing players up, and some wayward tackles can be directly influenced by a noisy crowd.

 

Players

Most teams will players who are walking yellow or red cards, having then on opposing sides is even more appealing for an increased booking point cards.

 

Referees

Keep an eye on the ref stats for cards awarded, some will be regarded as ‘card happy’.

Put a card happy ref, in a derby game with a couple of hatchet men in action and you could be on to a winner.

 

Booking points FAQs

 

What are booking points?

Bet over or under on how many booking points will be collected during a match.

How much are booking points for yellow and red cards worth?
 
10 points = a yellow card 
25 points = a red card
35 points = for a double booking (yellow followed by a red 10 + 25, the red replaces the second yellow) 

 

Do managers, coaching staff and unused subs count for booking points?

No, this would be silly especially when some teams have more coaches than players.

 

Do booking points count in extra-time?

No, booking points are collected during the 90 minute match and any added time.