Bingo Winning Tips
History – How To Play – Rules – Odds – Strategy
You can increase your chances of winning at bingo with the above tips, but the most important thing is to exercise responsibility while playing. Bingo should be fun and exciting, but if it is not fun anymore, call it a day. Also, seek help if you find yourself playing excessively or gambling money that you cannot afford. Therefore, if you want to ensure that you really boost your winning chances when playing Bingo, make sure you avoid the prime time. In other words, try to play Bingo when there are fewer players competing for the same prize. That way the competition will be slimmer and your chances of winning will actually be increased.
“Bingo!” It’s an eager declaration understood by both children and grandparents alike. Bingo is a classic game of probability enjoyed by players across multiple continents.
It’s estimated that over 100 million players take a seat to play a round of bingo each year. Whether you’re in the mood to pay a visit to your local bingo hall, or you want to enter a competitive online match, we promise you’ll pick it up in no time.
Bingo History
For the last few hundred years, the game of bingo has worked its way into the culture of multiple European countries and eventually found its way into the United States. Despite the time and distance, the game has traveled, players are still enjoying the game almost the same way it’s been played since day one.
Italy
History credits the creation of bingo to Italy in the 1500s. During the 14th century, Italians had quickly developed a passion for betting on games of chance. They invented a lottery game which they referred to as ‘Lo Giuoco Del Lotto D’Italia.’ Lo Giuoco Del Lotto D’Italia was considered the first version of modern-day bingo.
France
The French were the next culture to embrace bingo. The upper class favored the game, which they referred to as ‘Le Lotto,’ in the 1770s. The structure they followed wasn’t very different from the one players know and love today. Using bingo sheets featuring a 9×3 grid, players would follow the lead of a bingo caller, who would randomly select a wooden chip numbered 1-90. If a player had the chosen number on their board, they would mark it. The first player to cover an entire line of 9 was the winner.
Germany
As bingo grew in popularity in the 1800s it found its way to Germany. Rather than serving as a source of entertainment, the game was used as an educational tool. By playing the game, children were able to learn spelling, math, and history.
United States
In the roaring 1920s, bingo gained a following in the United States. While the evolution of the game, and its name, are highly speculated, we do know that it was originally played under the name ‘beano.’ This name stemmed from the player’s use of beans as card markers. Legend has it that during a game one very enthusiastic player declared her victory by yelling ‘bingo,’ rather than ‘beano.’ The name stuck, and it’s still what we call the game almost a hundred years later. A toy salesman named Edward Lowe further revolutionized the game by working to develop a system to increase number combinations on bingo cards. His charitable work with one Pennsylvanian church (who used the game for fundraising), helped contribute to the rise in the game’s popularity. More recently, an organization in the United States launched the country’s first entirely charitable online bingo website (www.ticketyboogames.org).
How to Play Bingo
Fortunately for bingo fanatics, the game can be enjoyed either in-person or from the comfort of your own home in an online format. Both offer slightly different experiences but deliver the same excitement none-the-less. (Wondering what the future of bingo will look like? The development of mobile bingo apps is on the rise!)
Land-Based Bingo:
The first necessary measure for a bingo game is to purchase admission. Depending on the venue, the player may have the option to do this beforehand, or on-site. After players have found their seats, and it’s almost time to begin, the Bingo Caller will first announce that occasion’s prizes. When the Caller has completed the introduction, they’ll say ‘eyes down,’ indicating that it’s time for the game to begin. The Caller will pick and announce numbers using their selected method (traditional balls from a bingo tumbler, or from the use of a Random Number Generator (RNG)). When one of the numbers announced appears on a player’s card, the player will mark that square off.
The game continues until a player yells ‘bingo!’, which signals that they’ve marked off all the numbers that form a winning pattern on their card. Their card is checked by a staff member, and the game will either end, or continue, depending on the rules of the venue, and the number of prizes up for grabs.
Online Bingo:
For those who seek the thrill of betting but are reluctant to leave the comfort of their home, online bingo is the next best option. With the demand for at-home entertainment increasing, online bingo has become one of the most rapidly growing variations of online gambling. In 2004 the UK had 20 online bingo sites, and today you can find over 500 of them across the web.
The process of online bingo is similar to that of land-based: You enter in a (virtual) game, choose the number of cards you’d like, listen to the numbers being called, and declare when you’ve got a winning card. However online, the talking must be done via chat, the cards are marked on your computer screen, and a win is announced with the click of a mouse. Just like land-based bingo, card styles and winning patterns can differ from game to game. Online bingo is already prominent in the United States and Europe and is expected to grow in Spain, Asia, and Latin America.
Bingo Rules
While different bingo venues and halls have different rules, the same general guidelines are applied everywhere; however, we’ve listed the general guidelines for both land-based and online-based casinos below:
Land-Based Bingo:
Technicalities often differ between bingo halls, but there are common rules that you’ll need to follow, regardless of your venue:
- Get in (the game), or get out (of the hall): audience members who aren’t in play, are not permitted in the bingo hall
- Players are expected to remain quiet so that all other players can clearly hear the caller so that he/she doesn’t need to repeat numbers
- The only time the caller should be addressed during the game is if a player is requesting for the numbers to be called out slower or at a louder volume
Bingo Winning Tips Winning
Online Bingo:
In the case of online bingo games, there isn’t a need for restrictions on body language or noise level. The rules players are required to follow will vary from platform to platform. Before a game, especially your first experience, players are encouraged to read the rules and regulations that the website presents. Doing so will ensure a smooth game.
Bingo Odds
Just like any other type of betting game, bingo has odds. In bingo, the caller will traditionally choose from balls numbered 1 through 75. When the first call is made, the odds of a specific number on your card is 1 in 75. As the game progresses, with each ball selected, those odds increase. The more numbers that are chosen, the longer a game continues, and the higher the chance that each particular number has of being called. Go figure; if you stay in the game long enough, eventually you’re guaranteed to end up with a winning combination.
The Tippett Theory:
A theory regarding bingo odds, developed by L. H. C. Tippett, claims that the more numbers that are called in a game, the higher the odds are that those numbers will be closer to the set’s median (number 38). To take advantage of that, players expecting a longer game should (if possible) seek out cards with a surplus of numbers close to the median, and players expecting a shorter game should keep their eye out for a card with very high and very low numbers. The length of a game can be estimated by how easy it is to achieve a winning combination.
Bingo Strategy
One of the reasons why bingo is such a crowd-pleaser is because it doesn’t require much practice or strategy. Because it’s a game based almost entirely on luck, both novices and experts alike have equal chances of winning. Players can, however, take advantage of tips and techniques to try to swing the odds in their favor.
Bingo Tactics
The most common bingo tactic used, is playing with multiple cards at the same time. The more cards mean the more possible winning combinations, so it’s a no-brainer. It’s even more ideal if your assortment of cards incorporates a wide variety of numbers. The danger in a greater number of cards is not having time to check all the cards when a number’s called. Players should aim to have the maximum number of cards that they’re able to keep track of. Keeping ‘your eyes on the prize’ and maintaining focus during the game, will ensure that you mark your card properly. (Bonus: online bingo often offers an ‘Auto-Daub’ mode, which will mark off the called numbers on your card for you!)
Summary
The game of bingo is a classic source of entertainment that has stood the test of time. It’s traveled the globe for hundreds of years and is played almost the same way from country to country. Whether a traditional in-person game or the fast-growing craze of online bingo, it’s one of the easiest-to-learn gambling options. What do players need, you ask? Just a venue, a bingo card, and a little luck.
This time last year a woman won Vegas’ largest bingo win pot ever. She walked away with just over $110,000. That’s a tidy sum for a game that consists of calling out numbers.
Your local bingo game might not have a pot quite that large. Whatever your winnings, it’s nice to go home with a little extra.
We can’t tell you how to win at bingo every time. But we can give you some tips to put the odds in your favor for a win.
1. Get There Early
This one isn’t so much a bingo tip as a general tip to perform your best and set yourself up for success. Similar to professional athletes, get to the location early.
You want to have plenty of time to get settled, organize your lucky charms, and grab a drink. If you rush in and throw your stuff down as they are about to call the first number, then you are already behind.
2. Have the Right Tools
You can’t do any job well if you don’t have the right tools. You need a bingo dabber to quickly mark your cards.
You also need masking tape. That way you don’t waste time keeping your cards in order on the table. You are playing with more than one card, right?
3. Choose the Right Seat
We all have our preferred place to sit, right? Just watch students file into a classroom for the first time. You can watch the evaluation process.
Some people are a front of the room type. While others want to be towards the back. We naturally gravitate towards a seat that makes us feel comfortable.
The same thing happens at bingo. Sit in a seat that makes you feel comfortable so you can focus on the task at hand. But there is more to it than that.
Pay attention to the atmosphere of the room. Avoid the social group making a loud ruckus. You won’t be able to hear the caller over them.
Avoid sitting near your friends. Otherwise, you’ll have the temptation to chat instead of focusing.
If the hall is large, you may want to sit near the caller. That way you don’t miss any numbers that are called.
4. Select Cards with Different Numbers
You want to cover the widest range of numbers possible on your cards. That way you have greater odds of having a number that is called on one of your cards.
If your cards have too many numbers that are the same, you will either win big or lose big. But your odds of winning won’t be as good as if you diversify.
5. The Tippett Theory
Take this theory with a grain of salt as it hasn’t officially been proven. But it is worth a try to see how it works out for you.
The theory goes like this, the more numbers that get called in a wheel-of-balls type of bingo game, the more likely they will be more towards the median. So if there are 99 balls in the wheel, the median number would be 45.
If the game is going to be a long one, then you want to choose a card with more numbers that are close to the median number.
6. Play as Many Cards as Possible
We are going to caveat this tip with, you don’t want to limit your play, but you should always know your limits. So you want to play as many cards as possible that stays within your abilities.
Playing more cards than you can manage means you will miss numbers. Once you miss numbers, you have zero chance of winning and are wasting your time.
7. Number Counting
This theory has to do with wheel-of-ball bingo games. The theory focuses on statistical odds. The odds start out equal on all numbers, low to high and even or odd.
But as numbers get pulled, the odds get higher that your numbers will get pulled. So with this theory, you are better off buying fewer books per game and playing more games.
This theory works in person where a number gets manually pulled from a wheel, but also with online Bingo USA sites. Since these sites should follow the same type of pattern of pulling numbers.
8. Granville Strategy System
Joseph E. Granville is more well known for his financial writing on stock investments. But what most people don’t know is that he used his mathematical skills to figure out a strategy for bingo.
The basic idea is that there is a balance to numbers being called. So you want a card that reflects that balance in its numbers. So check your card to make sure you have equal amounts of these number qualities:
- Odd and even numbers
- High and low numbers
- Even amount of numbers that end in these numbers: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Bingo Winning Styles
Some online and in person bingo halls allow you to change out your cards if you are unhappy with them. If you do this, check them immediately and continue to switch them until you find the one you like.
9. Look for the Side Prize
When you play bingo online, there is usually a chatroom associated with the room of play. You don’t have to be an active participant in the chat room.
You should keep an eye on it for a moderator announcement. Often, there are special prizes and competitions that happen from the chat room.
So keep the chat window open and keep an eye on it. You may not win the bingo game, but you could still score a win.
Know How to Win at Bingo Every Time
With these tips, you now know how to win at bingo every time. Well, we can’t guarantee that you’ll win, but at least you now know how to tips the odds in your favor.
Bingo Win Tips
Start out with setting yourself up for success by doing the prep work. then stay focused and commit to your strategy. Before you know it, you’ll be shouting, BINGO!
Bingo Winning Tips
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