How to Bet on Football Bookings

With the increase in the number of markets available in soccer betting, and the constant battle for the punter to get one over on the bookmaker, betting on soccer bookings has become extremely popular.

Betting on Soccer Bookings

Basically, it is exactly as it sounds. You are betting on the number of cards that will be shown in a soccer match. Most bookmakers offer bookings markets now and some offer extensive markets, enabling the punter to bet on how many cards in a match, how many cards per team, players to be carded, and even the time of the first card shown.

Usually, a bookmaker will offer a points value for each card shown.

So:

• Yellow Card = 10pts
• Red Card = 30pts

Then, the betting markets available will mainly be over/under ones with the points for each card added together and a total value given at full time.

Soccer Bookings Markets

As mentioned, some bookmakers offer extensive markets for cards shown during a soccer match. For example, Sky Bet have twenty different markets available for Premier League and other big matches.

These are:

• Player to be Carded
• 1st Player Carded
• Total Over Booking Points
• Each Team Total Booking Points
• Home Over Booking Points
• Away Over Booking Points
• Team Most Booking Points
• Total Booking Points (25-45)
• Total Booking Points (35-55)
• 1st Team Carded
• Last Team Carded
• Player Sent Off
• Home Team Player Sent Off
• Away Team Player Sent Off
• Each Team Player Sent Off
• Player to be Sent Off
• Total Under Booking Points
• Home Under Booking Points
• Away Under Booking Points
• Bookings

They also offer a combination bet with total booking points, total goals, and total corners.

Best Way to Bet on Soccer Bookings

As with any sports bet, you must take an analytical approach and do your research before parting with your money. For the soccer bookmakers markets, you need to take a few important factors into consideration.

Referee

Some referee’s are extremely card happy, whereas some like to keep their cards in their pocket and only show them when necessary.

For example, in the 2017/18 Premier League season, Michael Oliver waved 100 yellow cards and 5 red cards in just 30 games. That’s almost 40 booking points per match. Whereas, Kevin Friend gave 46 yellow cards in 21 matches so just over 20 points per match.

Take into consideration which referee is taking charge of the match you want to bet on, look up their season data and try to work out an average number of cards they have shown in recent matches.

Rivalry between teams

Some matches become a lot more heated than others, especially if there is a big rivalry between the two teams involved. Local derbies, top of the table clashes, and relegation six-pointers are all more likely to see more cards shown than a mid-table match between two teams who have respect for each other.

Look up head to head statistics for the two teams involved and work out how many cards have been shown in matches between the two teams.

For example, There have been twenty five yellow cards and two red cards shown in total in the last five meetings between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. This is a total of 310 points, if using 10 for a yellow and 30 for a red, which works out at 62 points per match.

There is more chance of seeing plenty of cards shown if there has been a history of bookings in matches involving certain teams.

Recent Bookings

As well as checking the head to head statistics, looking at the last few matches for each team is a good idea as well. You will be able to see if a certain team is picking up several cards, and also which player may be getting booked or sent off the most.

This can help when placing a bet on a team to be given a certain number of bookings or if betting on the player to be carded market.