Card Betting in Football explained

Betting on cards is one of the most popular ways to punt on football matches in the online betting era and it is easy to see why.

The biggest matches have multiple card markets to choose from, from first card to player markets to handicaps, and there are often big prices available and an option to combine selections through Bet Builders. 

In particular, bet365 offer numerous punting avenues for those wishing to focus their betting on the referee’s actions and we are on hand to provide a detailed explanation on how to make the most of card betting.

What is Card Betting?

Card betting is a broad term as it encapsulates numerous markets. In short, the term relates to any bet placed on a card market. 

That could be betting on the amount of cards a team receives in a certain game, whether a player receives a booking, whether or not a red card is brandished or which side falls foul of the referee more often than the other. 

How to place a Card Bet

Placing a card bet is easy as bet365 have a separate cards section for most big matches on the site. 

There are also plenty of card markets available in the Bet Builder section of matches, too. 

What is a Bet Builder? How to place one, markets and odds

What Card Betting markets are available?

Number of Cards

Betting on the number of cards in a match is the simplest way to punt on bookings and, as a result, it is often the first market available when clicking on the cards tab. 

A line will be set for a match, e.g 4.5, and punters can bet on whether there will be over or under that amount in a given game. 

It is worth looking into statistics for team bookings, fouls and tackles - there are plenty of good resources and websites online that contain that data - and also the average cards per game for whichever referee is to be the man in the middle.

Both Teams to Receive Cards 

Another common way to bet on cards is by selecting both teams to receive one. However, with yellow cards being fairly common, the odds are often short for that outcome. 

Of course, you can bet on no, meaning one or both teams avoid the referee’s attention, and bet365 do also regularly offer a market for each team to receive 2+ cards, too.

Player Cards

Perhaps the most popular way to punt on cards, due to the appeal of Bet Builders, is by selecting which players will pick up a booking. 

It is rare to see a favourite in that market shorter than Evens, and being able to stack picks in a Bet Builder only further is another way of betting on cards.

Centre-backs facing dangerous strikers, full-backs up against pacey and tricky wingers or midfielders set to be involved in a feisty engine-room battle are always worth considering in the player-card markets. 

Again, researching stats on player fouls, yellow cards and tackles could inform your punting, alongside checking lineups. 

Forwards often have a price well over 3/1 and given all it takes for many strikers to lash out is an overly physical centre-back and a yellow card can be brandished for over-celebrating, it could be worth taking a punt on one from time to time. 

Over/Under

Not only can you bet on the over/under for the number of cards in a game, but you can also punt on the same market for each individual team, too. 

If you expect a plethora of cards in a Premier League relegation battle, for example, betting on over 2.5 bookings for each team as opposed to over 4.5 in a match is an option.

Time of First Card

There are two ways to punt on the time of a first card with bet365. 

Firstly, there will be a time set, based on previous matches, and you can select whether you believe the first card will arrive before or after that minute, with a slight odds-on price available for either selection. 

Secondly, if you are expecting a feisty, action-packed opening to a game, you can also bet on a card to be brandished in the first 10 minutes.

Card Betting Handicap explained

Just like with goals, there are handicaps available for cards, too. 

Normally in football, the better side will dominate possession and is therefore less likely to pick up bookings. 

For example, if Liverpool were playing Sunderland, it is possible the Reds would be +2 on the card handicap, meaning they effectively start the match with two bookings. Sunderland would then have to pick up at least one more booking than Liverpool for their handicap to land. 

If you wish to land a bigger price, you can also look at alternative handicaps, allowing for greater freedom if you have a hunch about one team losing their cool in a given match.