Our football card betting tips are provided by WhichBookie’s own football expert, Liam Johnson who also provides visitors with footy tips throughout the week.
The card betting market is an interesting one and Liam takes several factors into consideration when posting his selections.
For Match Winner markets, factors such as form, missing players and head-to-head records all play a part but when betting on the number of cards or certain players to receive yellow & red cards, you have to look at slightly less obvious factors that are often overlooked by both the bookmakers and other punters.
Card betting markets are available at the vast majority of bookies. However, they’re mostly only available on games in the bigger leagues and competitions. For example, you’ll find card markets for Premier League and Championship matches but not for football matches in the National League or lower.
Betting on cards can be a great option when it comes to major tournaments. World Cup predictions for card betting markets can be lucrative so long as you do your research into how certain players perform for their country as this can differ from when they play league football.
Here are a few factors to take into consideration when choosing to bet on cards in football.
Referee’s are perhaps the biggest factor when betting on card markets in football. After all, they’re they ones who decide when to give out cards to players. Players receiving cards is often a topic of debate as the criteria isn’t black and white and is often down to how the referee perceives the situation. Some refs are known for dishing out more cards than others and so before placing any card bets, it’s important to look at who is refereeing the game.
A simple Google search for ‘Referee Card Stats’ will return a wealth of information on the number of cards given out by different referees in all of the leagues around the world.
Some players are prone to receiving more cards than others. Dirty challenges are by far the most common reason for a player to receive a yellow or red card and so players who are hot-headed and often take chances with their tackles are usually the most likely to receive a card in a football match.
Similar to referee stats, card statistics for individual players are widely available for free on the internet with the official Premier League site being an example.
Football is an emotional game and matches between two rival sides can often result in more cards being shown. Derby matches are prime examples of this and you can usually expect several cards in games between clubs such as Rangers & Celtic, Manchester United & Manchester City and Liverpool and Everton for example.
Different leagues around the world also play a part in how many cards are shown in a football match. For example, in the Premier League, referee’s are considered somewhat lenient. However, South American leagues such as the Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile Primera Division, Ecuador Serie A and Colombia Primera A are all in the top 10 leagues for the highest average yellow & red cards per game.
Head to any of the top bookies and you’ll often find over a dozen card betting markets. Some of these include:
The majority of these markets can be split into two categories:
It’s important to understand the differences between card betting and booking points which we will explain in detail below.
There’s much more to football betting than just picking which team will win the match. These days, the best bookmakers have a huge range of markets on all the big matches. Many savvy punters are making profits almost unnoticed by specialising in niche markets that others miss. In this article, we’ll look at how booking points work in online betting. Booking points can be a great market to bet on if you are watching the match live or able to stream live football as you can see how the game is going and whether or not there are likely to be many cards shown.
 | Betfair | Visit |
 | Bet365 | Visit |
 | Paddy Power | Visit |
 | William Hill | Visit |
 | BetVictor | Visit |
 | Coral | Visit |
 | Ladbrokes | Visit |
In a booking points market, you bet based upon how many yellow and red cards you think will be shown in a particular match. When you bet on this market at an online bookie, it works like this:
Your bet is based upon how many total booking points you think there will be in a particular match.
You can use the Booking Points Calculator below to access booking points statistics for various football teams and leagues based on each season or overall. This information can be very useful when determining the best booking points bets to place.
Simply select a team or league from the drop-down list below to get started.
Note: For some teams where full information for all games is not available, we have added only the most recent information available.
A typical booking points market might look something like this:
As you can see there are three options in this market: Under 30 points, Exactly 30 points, or Over 30 points. Because points are awarded in multiples of 5 (10 points for a yellow card & 25 points for a red card), it is not possible for there to be any other outcome. For example, there cannot be 27 or 42 points.
Therefore you need to decide how many cards you think will be shown in the match and what colour cards you think they’ll be. Then simply place your bet accordingly. Because red cards count for a lot more points than yellows, you stand a better chance on betting on ‘over’ points if a red card is shown. For example, if you think a red card will be shown, there only need to be one yellow card to take the total booking points to over 30.
Not many bookies offer booking points markets, so we recommend you open a Betfair account if you want to place this type of bet. They certainly offer better odds on booking points than anywhere else, and as you can see it’s very easy to bet on this market.
Betting on booking points is similar to determining whether a bet on the ‘over/under’ goals market is a good bet. You would bet on this market if two teams were playing each other which have the capabilities of scoring a lot of goals but also tend to concede a lot. With booking points, you need to look at which teams receive the most cards. If two of the teams who receive a lot of cards are playing each other, a bet on the ‘over’ market may be a good choice. Derby games are also usually quite heated and can result in multiple cards.
Another factor to consider is the referee which is officiating the match. After all, referees are the ones who give the cards and some are stricter than others and tend to show more cards per game.
You may see bookmakers such as SkyBet offer odds for ’30+’ or ’40+’ booking points in a match. Many punters are confused as to what the ‘+’ symbol means and whether or not ’30+’ means 30 booking points would win or if the points would have to total over 30. SkyBet actually answered this question in a tweet from a customer and confirmed that in this example, it means 30 points or more. So, if you’re betting on ’30+’ booking points and there were 30 points in the match, your bet would win.
Hi @SkyBet. Please can you tell me why this 41-1 bet hasn’t been paid out? Don’t remember it having to be in 90mins. pic.twitter.com/TTCxwKpyxf
— Pete West (@petewwest) May 21, 2016
If all that seems a bit over complicated, then don’t worry. There is a simpler way to bet on bookings, by using the traditional over/under cards market, or the most cards market. Here’s an example of how these work.
With this market, you only need to decide whether there will be under 3.5 cards (i.e. 3 or less) or over 3.5 cards (i.e. 4 or more).
It’s a lot simpler than booking points, as you don’t need to start calculating the values of each card. So this is a much more suitable market for beginners.
Another option is the “most cards” market. Quite simply, you’re betting which team will get the most cards, or whether they’ll both get the same. It’s like a match bet for cards instead of goals! Again this is much simpler than booking points because you don’t have to worry about assigning values to the cards, it’s a simple question of who gets the most.
New customers only aged 21+. Minimum deposit £10. Qualifying bet must be placed at odds of evens (2.0) or greater. Get a matched Free bet up to £30 plus 20 Free Spins on Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch, credited within 24 hours. Free Bet and Spins expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply. Please bet responsibly. #ad
Batfair have several other markets for cards and bookings as well, so if you’re interested in this area of betting then we’d definitely recommend you get an account there.
So now you know how it works, you will be able to bet on booking points markets on all the big football matches. But what is the best way to profit from this type of bet?
The key to making money from betting on booking points is to look at the referee stats. Some refs are more prone to giving cards than others. Look at the average number of yellow and red cards that a referee shows. This will give you an excellent guide as to which bet is most likely to win.
You also need to consider the two teams that are playing, and look at how many bookings they get on average. If one team has a player that is particularly prone to getting booked (someone like Diego Costa or Marouane Fellaini) then wait for the line ups and check whether they are playing.
The final thing to consider is whether there is any history between the two teams. If two fierce rivals are playing, bookings are more likely. A local derby is especially likely to produce red cards. In contrast, when there is an end of season game with nothing at stake, it’s far less likely that teams will play dirty.
The majority of the best new betting sites use the same terms when it comes to betting on booking points and the number of cards but there may be a few differences. Below, we’ve listed soe of the top bookies and their booking points & card betting terms.
Below are the key terms for Betfair Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at Betfair when cards are shown:
New customers only aged 21+. Minimum deposit £10. Qualifying bet must be placed at odds of evens (2.0) or greater. Get a matched Free bet up to £30 plus 20 Free Spins on Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch, credited within 24 hours. Free Bet and Spins expire in 7 days. T&Cs apply. Please bet responsibly. #ad
Visit Bookmaker
Alternative
Betfair Alternative
Bet365 do not offer a booking points market. Instead, customers can bet on thenumber of cards being shown in the match.
The number of cards do not count at Bet365 when cards are shown:
Open Account Offer. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required. Registration Required #ad
Visit Bookmaker
New Customer Offer
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
Below are the key terms for Paddy Power Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at Paddy Power when cards are shown:
18+ only. New customers only. Place a minimum £20 bet on any selection with minimum odds of evens (2) and receive a £20 free bet upon bet settlement. Use promo code 2020bg. Free bets are awarded as free bet credits. Full Terms & Conditions apply. #ad
Visit Bookmaker
Alternative
Paddy Power Alternative
Below are the key terms for William Hill Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at William Hill when cards are shown:
18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further terms apply. #ad
Visit Bookmaker
New Customer Offer
Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets
Below are the key terms for BetVictor Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at BetVictor when cards are shown:
18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10 on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Debit card / Apple Pay payments only. T&Cs apply, see below. begambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly #ad
Visit Bookmaker
New Customer Offer
Bet £10 Get £40 in Free Bets
Below are the key terms for Ladbrokes Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at Ladbrokes when cards are shown:
18+. New UK+IRE customers. Paypal and certain deposit types and bet types excluded. Min £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days on sports stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply.
Visit Bookmaker
New Customer Offer
Bet £5 Get £20
Below are the key terms for Coral Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at Coral when cards are shown:
Bet £5 Get £20: 18+ Eligible UK+IRE players. Paypal & some deposit & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4x £5 free bets. Free bets valid for 7 days, stake not returned. No cashout, restrictions + T&Cs apply
Visit Bookmaker
New Customer Offer
Bet £5 Get £20
Below are the key terms for SkyBet Booking Points.
Booking points do not count at SkyBet when cards are shown:
Top New Bookmakers
Top Offers
Here you’ll find the Lucky 15 horse racing tips from WhichBookie expert racing analysts. All of the tips published here on WhichBookie are 100% free along with the use of our Lucky 15 Calculator that can be found further down the page.
Here you'll find football card betting tips from our expert football analyst, Liam Johnson. All of the card & booking points tips published here on WhichBookie are 100% free.
Top Rated Bookmakers
Here you'll find football corners betting tips from our expert football analyst, Liam Johnson. All of the corner predictions published here on WhichBookie are 100% free.
How to Safely Enjoy Free £10 No Deposit Casino Bonuses
In the enticing world of online gambling, the phrase “free £10 no deposit casino bonus” can catch the eye of both novice and seasoned players.
Betfred Pay Out Early on Man City Winning The 2023/24 Premier League
With still six games left of the season, Betfred’s founder Fred Done has made a bold decision to pay out early on bets that backed…
Best Football Bookies
Best Racing Bookies
Anthony says
Had bet Liverpool v man city 2+ cards each team with b365,they both got 2 cards each but was settled as a losing bet ?.I thought 2+ ment 2 or more not 3.confusing.