By JoeOdds Tips Desk · Updated 2026-10-24
Booking points are cards turned into a number you can bet on. Each yellow and red is worth a set number of points, the match total is added up, and you back it to finish over or under a line. How big those points are depends on the bookmaker, and that is where Nigerian punters get caught out.
The scale on your app is not the scale on the English guides that rank for this question.
How many points is a yellow card?
On Bet9ja, one. A red is two.
The card section of Bet9ja's own sport rules says it in one line: "A yellow card has value of 1 point, a red card has value of 2 points."
Now read a UK guide on the same market. Bet442's explainer says "each yellow card usually equals 10 points, while a red card equals 25 points", and that is the scale almost every English-language page on booking points is built on. Same market name, numbers ten times apart.
So the first thing to find is not a tip. It's the scale your bookmaker uses.
What does over 5.5 booking points mean?
It means the match total has to reach six points or more, on whatever scale the market is using.
On Bet9ja's one-and-two scale, six points is a proper scrap: six yellows, or four yellows and a sending-off, or two yellows and two reds. On a ten-and-twenty-five scale, a single yellow in the 12th minute settles it, because ten is already over 5.5.
Which is a useful test. A line that low is never a ten-and-twenty-five line, so it is either counting cards one by one or running a small scale like Bet9ja's.
What happens when a player gets two yellows?
Bet9ja adds both cards and caps it. Their rule: "When a player is sent off because of being shown two yellow cards, a maximum of 3 points will be considered (yellow card + red card)."
The UK convention does the opposite. Bet442 again: when a second yellow leads to a red, "only the points for the red card are typically counted, resulting in a total of 25 points for that incident".
One sending-off, and the two rulebooks disagree on whether the yellow before it still exists.
Which cards count?
Not all of them, and this is where slips die.
Bet9ja's general card rule: "Bet outcome on cards will be defined on basis of cards shown during regular time unless specified. Any cards shown during the half time period or after the full time whistle will not count towards the final tally. The cards shown to somebody not included between players in the field of play (ex. Coaches, players in bench or players already replaced) will be not considered."
So a manager marched off the touchline gives you nothing. A substitute booked from the bench gives you nothing. Two players carded in the tunnel at half time, nothing. A red waved at a defender after the final whistle, nothing, even though it lands in the match report.
Your over bet counts cards shown to players on the pitch while the game is running.
Where do the card numbers come from?
Not the television graphic. Bet9ja's rules for the combined result and cards market say "cards are settled according to the official statistics provider", so the feed decides and a commentator's count that disagrees with it changes nothing.
Is it the same on every betting app?
I only checked one. Every quote above comes from Bet9ja's Sport T&C's Part 2, version 37, effective 15 October 2026. I have no SportyBet card rule in front of me, so I'm not going to guess at theirs.
Open your own app's card section instead, see whether the line is in cards or in points, and if it's in points, find the two numbers. Thirty seconds, and it's the difference between a bet you understand and one you hope about.
Today's card markets on JoeOdds
Today · 24 October 2026
We don't rate cards. JoeOdds picks goals and results, not referees, so there's no booking points table here and I'd rather say so than invent one. Today's live card is on football predictions, the goals lines sit on over 2.5 and both teams to score, and settled slips are on results. For another quiet market, we've written up over 9.5 corners.
Questions people ask
What does booking points mean in betting?
Cards turned into a points total you bet over or under. Each yellow and red carries a set number of points and the match total settles the bet.
How many points is a yellow card in betting?
On Bet9ja a yellow is 1 point and a red is 2. UK bookmakers usually use 10 for a yellow and 25 for a red, so check your own app before you stake.
What does over 5.5 booking points mean?
The match has to produce six points or more. On a 10 and 25 scale one yellow card would already clear 5.5, so a line that low is not using that scale.
What happens if a player gets two yellow cards?
Bet9ja counts a maximum of 3 points for that sending-off, the yellow plus the red. The UK convention counts only the red's 25.
Do cards shown to coaches count?
No. Bet9ja ignores cards shown to anyone not on the field of play, including coaches, substitutes on the bench and players already replaced.
Do cards after the full time whistle count?
No. Cards shown at half time or after the full time whistle do not count towards the total.
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