Booking Points Betting

Booking points when betting on football is one of the more intricate wagers you can encounter in the Bet UK sportsbook. It enables punters to bet on a game without needing to be invested in one team winning or losing, and so the bet type is perfect if you reckon there’s a chance it will be a dirty encounter.

In this guide, we’ll take you through the idea of booking points, why the bet option exists, and what value yellow cards and red cards have when betting. You’ll then be able to bet on football with more confidence the next time you’re in the Bet UK sportsbook!

What are booking points?

Booking points are a betting metric used in sportsbooks that give punters the chance to wager on how dirty or clean a game is. The general idea is that the dirtier the game, the more yellow and red cards will be shown. The points system gives greater weight to red cards than yellow cards, so you can place bets on how many points are accumulated in a game.

Yellow cards are valued at 10 points, while red cards are valued at 25 points. So, if someone is shown a straight red for a lunge in the Merseyside derby, that’s 25 points added to the total. The question you'll often be asked is how many booking points will there be in a game, or will player A get a yellow card.

As a bettor, you can wager on the total number of points accumulated in a game. Most players tend to hover around the 30 to 50 mark, because the average bookings in a Premier League game is 3.8. Of course, a red card dramatically increases the points, but these are rarer. With this in mind, you'll find greater odds in the booking points market for a red card than a yellow card but football cards betting provides fantastic opportunities, particularly when looking at in-play bets for a football match.

How to calculate booking points when betting

It’s important to think about the full 90 minutes when betting on booking points. After all, if you think a game between Manchester City and Crystal Palace will be a routine victory for City, then it’s unlikely to get dirty towards the end of the clash and the number of cards in the game should be low. You might, therefore, choose to bet under a specific number of booking points.

Likewise, betting on the North London derby will probably require some thought as to how many bookings and red cards there will be, for games like this you'll be able to find card betting tips to support booking points markets as many believe these clashes provide some of the best value in football betting. You’ll probably wager quite highly here, considering there’s been 5.9 yellows per NLD in the past decade, and a red card every three encounters.

Now, it’s also important to note that a straight red is worth 25 points, but two yellow cards is worth 35 booking points (not 20). Is your chosen game likely to produce a straight red, or is it more probable that someone will be dismissed for multiple offences?

Betting on yellow cards

You can also bet on yellow cards in the Bet UK sportsbook – both as a game total and for individual players. Each market featuring card betting has an option to wager above or below a specific number. For example, you might wager +4.5 yellow cards in a game between Birmingham City and Cardiff City. Likewise, you might wager -1.5 yellows in a dead-rubber encounter at the end of the season against Montrose and Alloa.

Bet UK allows punters to bet on player cards during big games too. Our odds are set before the teamsheets are announced, and react as any other bet type does once the XIs are known. For example, you could bet on a Brighton centre-back to get booked when facing Manchester City, knowing they’re in for a long afternoon. Or you might bet on a Celtic midfielder to get the first booking of the day in the Old Firm. Betting on cards, can be particularly fruitful in rivalry matches, such as when betting on the Old Firm derby in the Scottish Premiership, as these fixtures are as fierce as it gets but nobody wants to get a red card, so many teams accumulate a number of cards across the team.

Betting on red cards

You can also bet on red cards here at Bet UK. Red card betting is great fun when you know there’s going to be a spicy match – but actually many players earn big profits here when wagering on supposedly tame games that spill over.

There’s always the possibility of a nasty challenge coming in, and red card betting requires some research. For example, it’s worth looking at the weather and the pitch conditions, to see if late, lunging challenges may be a problem. You should also look at the recent disciplinary records between the two teams in action – if one team picks up numerous bookings per game then perhaps tonight they’ll see red.

Red card betting of course carries higher odds than yellow, but remains a lucrative pursuit for shrewd punters. If you're looking for a straight red card, you'll likely avoid booking points betting and look at other booking betting markets, as they'll provide better value for what you're looking for.

Bet on bookings via mobile

Enhance your football betting experience by downloading the Bet UK app, and access the booking markets in the palm of your hand! Experience the complete Bet UK sportsbook, and get started with incredible bonuses.

With the Bet UK app, you'll find all the booking bets available on the website that cover every game in the Premier League, Champions League, Championship and other top competitions. This means you’ll never miss a booking or red card! 

Booking Points Betting FAQs

What are the values of card betting?

Yellow cards are worth 10 points, and red cards worth 25 points. When you bet on booking points it’s always worth remembering, too, that a player who picks up two yellows gets 35 points overall (not 20).

Can I bet on bookings?

Yes. You can bet on bookings in football games here at Bet UK. Either you can bet on booking points, wager on total cards shown in a match, or bet on a specific player to be shown a yellow

When should I bet on bookings?

It’s always worth waiting until the lineups have been announced before betting on bookings in football. After all, you don’t want to wager on a lot of booking points, only to see the dirtiest players on either side have been rested or benched!

Can I bet on bookings in the NLD?

Yes. Betting on bookings in the north London derby is probably a smart wager, considering there’s an average 5.9 yellows in games between Arsenal and Tottenham.

What booking points markets are available?

Typically, most players already know about yellow card and red card betting markets as cards betting is a gigantic part of the bet builder functionality that is widely popular in modern-day football betting. However, other booking points markets can provide fantastic value as well, betting on cards doesn't stop at individual players, you can bet on the specific number of cards in football matches, which team will end the game with the most booking points, the total booking points at the end of the game and much more! So if you're looking at the best betting market for bookings betting, don't just stop at yellow or red cards, look deeper into the sportsbook options available at BetUK and see what options we have for betting.