What are booking points?

Betting sites have plenty of terminology that beginners can’t avoid coming across, from ‘ante-post’ to ‘acca’ or ‘handicap’.

And when they delve further into each sport, punters quickly realise that there’s a number of terms almost unique to each one.

On football betting sites, one such term is booking points. This is a fairly easy term to understand once it’s explained – in simple terms, booking points are a system of showing how many yellow or red cards have been given out in a match.

The ‘points’ are given according to each card, with 10 points given to a team that gets a yellow and 25 points given for a red.

Below, we’ve gone into more detail on booking points, while also explaining how they work and the markets involved.

So, what are booking points exactly?

Booking points are used in football betting to measure the number of cards (yellow and red) in a game.

Naturally, the first thing you need to know is how many points are handed out for yellow cards and red cards.

As alluded to above, the ‘points’ are awarded to each card, with 10 points given for a yellow and 25 given for a red.

Teams accumulate points based on the number of cards they receive in a match, and bookies offer punters the chance to bet on the number of ‘points’ that a player, team, each team, or both teams, accrue in a given match.

But how do booking points work?

Different cards have different point designations, with yellow cards designated at 10 points and red cards given 25 points.

Each player is awarded points according to the yellow or red cards they receive in a match.

Therefore, the most points a single player can accrue in one match is 35 (one yellow and one red). A straight red card is also given 25 points.

Booking points provide a measurable way to bet on disciplinary events, and they are also useful for information on other wagers, such as on cards and penalties.

Football booking points offer a way for punters to bet on these disciplinary events, and they can also form a potentially good value part of a bet builder, for example, with odds offered on certain players or teams to obtain over or under a certain number of booking points.

There are a number of booking points football markets, with the most obvious being a wager on the ‘total booking points’.

This is the simplest form of wager, where the punter is simply betting on the total number of booking points in a game – so the total number of points after adding together each team’s total.

You can also bet on which team will receive the most booking points – this is a simpler ‘yes/no’ bet.

Bookmakers also offer over/unders, in which you bet on whether there will be over or under a certain number of booking points. For example, you may bet on Manchester City to have over 20 booking points – this means they must receive at least three yellow cards, or one red, for your bet to win.

It is important to remember that some betting sites only offer booking points markets as part of an accumulator or bet builder, rather than as single selections.

In other words, you can’t always just place a single bet on there just being ‘under 30 booking points’.

A number of factors can affect the tally of booking points in a game.

The primary factor in most matches is the referee – are they a ‘card happy’ ref? How many bookings have they given out in the last few matches? Do they tend to give bookings early on, or try to manage the game?

Of course, the next thing to consider is the teams involved, as well as particular players. Some players get booked regularly, while others are good at avoiding being carded. The same logic applies to certain teams – for example, City are more likely to avoid bookings as they have far more possession.

Consider likely intensity of a match too – is it a derby? Is it a semi final or final? Is it likely to be cagey, or will both teams go at each other from the early stages?

Put simply, players can receive up to 35 booking points in a match – one yellow and a subsequent red for a second booking.

Teams can receive plenty more booking points. For example, imagine a particularly feisty derby match where six Liverpool players are booked and another is given a straight red card. The six bookings would give Liverpool 60 booking points, while the straight red would add another 25, for a total of 85 booking points.

Remember that players on the bench or players booked after full-time do not receive booking points towards your bet.

If you wish to bet online on booking points, the best approach is to do research on the aforementioned factors.

Take a look at the referee’s record based on statistics online, including the number of cards awarded in each match as well as the timings of the cards.

Next, consider the teams involved and the players on each team. Look up whether any particular players have picked up a number of cards so far, and consider the match itself – is one team more likely to pick up cards because they are the worse team, for example?

Consider the context of the game. Is it a big derby? Is it a cup semi-final, or are there a vital three points on the line in the fight for survival? These will all potentially impact the number of bookings.

Use promotions where you can as betting sites will offer enhanced odds, free bets and profit boosts on bets including bet builders and accumulators for wagers that can include booking points.

Gambling is only a form of entertainment, not a way to make money, no matter your knowledge of the sport. Sports betting can be addictive, so remember to never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Take steps to remain in control of your budget. Make use of responsible gambling tools offered by betting sites, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.

Should you wish to seek help for gambling-related issues, there are several charities and healthcare providers who offer support and information:

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.