Playing the Bingo Odds

So, what are your chances of winning at bingo? That depends, of course, on the game. We need to distinguish between coverall and games using any other patterns, because in coverall the numbers drawn are limited. When fifty numbers-the maximum for a full payout-are drawn, the odds are 1 in 212,086 for a player with a single card. Those are the best odds that you can expect for coverall. You might not even do that well.

If you’re playing a game in which only forty-nine numbers are drawn, those winning odds drop to 1 in 407,857. And what about a game in which forty-eight numbers are drawn? For suckers only: you’re facing odds of 1 in 799,399! If nobody wins, and they continue the game for a reduced jackpot, your odds improve, of course, as the prize money decreases. With every ball drawn, the odds are about twice as good, an optimist would point out. But a pessimist would argue that the odds are still heavily against you: 1 in 112,284 for fifty-one balls, 1 in 60,458 for fifty-two balls, 1 in 33,081 for fifty-three balls. Even if the caller draws five more numbers, your odds are only 1 in 10,359. By ball sixty, you’re at about 1 in 5,000 or so. Maybe you’re starting to feel luckier, but you’re still fighting considerable odds. That’s why coverall winners are rare, unless the caller continues to draw numbers.

As you might imagine, the odds of winning are better when the game pattern uses fewer squares–and the caller draws numbers until somebody wins. But what are the odds that’s you?

Whether the pattern is simple or complex, you have to figure in the number of cards being played in that game. Many players use a half-dozen or a dozen cards, especially in games with higher pay-outs. If there are 200 cards in play, any single card has a 1 in 200 chance of winning. If you play five cards, your odds improve, but only slightly, to 1 in 40-but so does your financial investment. And what if the other 199 players each have five cards as well? (By the way, you may find people in casinos using the word on, as in 3-on or 6-on. Face is another name for a card, as well. A 3-on or a 6-on would be a sheet or a strip with three or six game cards or faces.)

Some people believe that their chances of winning increase proportionately with the number of cards they play. Although that’s true, the advantage is less than most people expect-or hope. Take our example of 200 cards in play. Your odds go from 1 in 200 to 1 in 40 if you’re playing five of those cards rather than a single card. But consider your odds from another angle: by paying five times as much to play, you’re only decreasing your odds of losing from 199 out of 200 to 195 out of 200. And you’re also losing your money five times as fast.

In short, it pays to check out a game and mentally calculate your odds before laying down your cash and picking up your cards. The more cards you play, the more interesting the game. But the key is to play where there are fewer cards competing for that prize.