Another type of special bets would be the betting on the so called bookings during a game which means on the yellow or red cards combo. These types of bets usually don’t need any kind of explanation as the title itself is pretty suggestive, seeing as one can make a lot of money on it especially during live betting, meaning during the progress of the game; and we know how the bookmakers: William Hill,Ladbrokes, like to diversify their choices by offering more markets during the game.
Some bettors make the mistake of relying on the referee while betting on bookings, considering them the essential part in this sort of bet…wrong approach, seeing as he can’t book someone if the offense wasn’t committed in the first place. Many look at the name of the referee before deciding to go for this type of bet, but even the most strict ones cannot influence the course of the game unless the players act first, which brings us to the deciding factor, the attitude of the players.
If you study statistics for any league or team you’ll notice the number of red or yellow cards increase greatly when there’s any kind of animosity between the teams, as in spirits escalate during a local derby or during a match between two teams which have a long history of not standing each other. Here the bookies expand the market even more using the handicap approach in which you get:
- First yellow/red card: this type of bet has a third option apart from the already obvious one of Team A or Team B to receive the first card; you get the option to bet on both at the same time, which means players from both teams are at fault and the referee does not start the match until both players are cautioned.
- Number of cards in the first half: this goes for either team in the regular or injury time.
- Number of cards in the second half: please notice that the cards received during extra time do not count; nor the ones received by the staff…neither of the above mentioned count towards the total of the team. Some of the other red/yellow cards markets are rather self explanatory and require no further explanation, unless you met with the betting on booking points market. This market is characterized by the assigning of points for a certain booking element.
A yellow card is 10 points
A red card is 25 points
Two yellow cards in the same game that automatically means a red one is worth 35 points.
So, if you find yourself faced with several types of booking points bet and have no idea what they mean, keep reading as we will try to explain them.
- Total booking points under/over 35: this means that usually the bookie sets the margin for points, and you just have to decide where you think the final mark will stop.
- Total booking points: here the bookies are splitting their points market into 3 categories: under 35 points, over 35 points and over 55 points, which means if your team is an aggressive one, rest assured the number of booking points will escalate rather quickly (ex: Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich match from May 4, 2013, a total of 5 yellow cards and 1 red one was shown to the Bavarians, so if you would have used the total booking points method and bet for over 55, you would have increased your bankroll with a lot seeing as Bayern ended up with a total of 75 booking points.)
- Team with most booking points: this market will offer you the guess on which team will end up the game with most points, for which the bookie will offer you the following options: Team 1, Team 2 and Booking Points Tie which means both teams will have the same number of points.
The red/yellow cards betting works best for live betting and if possible for matches where the stake is really high like for example the knock out stages of European competitions, mainly due to the fact that it becomes really hard to predict an obvious winner and there can be any outcome by the final whistle. Our bookmakers are very thorough while deciding on the markets and are listed here – William Hill, Ladbrokes.
