When it comes to betting on football (soccer), you will get presented with a plethora of betting options for you to choose from. While Asian Handicaps and 1x2 bets remain three of the most popular, those are not the only three the bettors use for their betting endeavors.
One type of wagers that has gained a lot of traction in the betting community and can prove to be highly profitable is betting on cards. That includes card handicaps, as well as total cards, the first card received, number of team cards, and time to the first card.
There are many different variations of card betting in football, and while it remains one of the exotic types of bets, there are ways of using card betting as a profitable method when betting on football.
Red Card Betting Explained
There are two ways of betting on cards in football. You can either bet on yellow or red cards, and while there is no real advantage between choosing one or the other, we will focus on red card betting for this article.
Obviously, the same principles we will cover for red card betting apply for yellow card betting, so as long as you understand one, knowing how the other words should be second nature.
There are a few ways to approach betting on red cards in football. You can either bet on whether there will be a red card, which player/team will receive a red card when the card gets shown, or bet on the number of red cards (Over/under) shown in a game.
If you bet that X player will receive a red card, your bet will obviously only hit if the said player gets sent off, whereas if you bet on an X team to get a red card, your bet would hit no matter which of the 11 players get sent off.
Betting on a specific player to get sent off is far more difficult, albeit you set yourself up for higher payouts. Similarly, betting on a team to receive a red card offers a higher chance of your bet hitting, although at lower odds.
How to Bet On Red Cards in Football?
When you’re betting on red cards, you will quickly notice that some players and teams tend to have higher odds than others. There will even be instances where a player/team has different odds offered on cards depending on who they play.
That might seem weird and unexplainable, but we have to keep in mind that there is such thing as players not liking each other, so when their teams meet, you can be sure sparks will fly. Obviously, there are also derbies between two rival teams who have a long history of not liking one another.
One such example is a derby between Liverpool and Everton of the English Premier League, also known as the Merseyside derby. It started way back in October 1894, when these two teams first met, and throughout all those years, they remained fierce rivals.
Games between Liverpool and Everton usually result in many cards, which has to do with the tensions between the two clubs that neither team wants to lose. This obviously impacts the players’ nerves, and they’re more prone to making mistakes.
The Everton-Liverpool derby also averages the most red cards in the league (at 0.38), so as long as you can get odds which implied probability is higher than the average red cards between these two teams, you have found yourself a solid bet. There are other things that go into picking the right bet than just blindly following the average, but it’s a good starting point.
Then there are also players who are known for receiving red cards, and while betting on them to get sent off will offer slightly lower odds, the chance of your bet hitting is consequently also higher.
One such player is Sergio Ramos, who is known to be a bit too aggressive at times and has hit the showers before the game ended quite frequently. During his stay in LaLiga, Ramos has been booked a staggering 191 times, with 171 yellows and 20 reds, which makes him the most sent-off player in the league’s history.
Keeping an eye on players who are prone to receiving a card and team derbies is essential in card betting.
Where to Bet On Red Cards in Football?
Most US legal bookmakers will offer you an option to bet on red cards. Although this bet type will rarely be provided on the main page, it isn’t challenging to navigate to it.
Most online sportsbooks will list card betting under “Cards” or “Cards/Penalties” menus. Alternatively, you can also search the player or team name in the bookmakers’ search menu and find the bet you’re looking for there.
Often people like to combine bets on X player receiving a card with over/under bets. Some more experienced bettors also reach for in-play card betting once they spot that the game is getting heated and that there’s a high chance one of the players will get booked.
Keep in mind before choosing a bookie that not all the operators are legal in every state. For example: If you are willing to do some Pennsylvania internet betting, you will find a wide range of options, while if you are willing to bet online from New York, you may only find a couple operators available. We recommend you to visit our full US states list, to find the legal sportsbook that suits better your requirements within your residing state.
