Winning at Bingo

So, how do you increase your chances of winning? Well, since bingo is basically a game of chance, like the lottery from which it evolved over the centuries, perhaps the best way to win (or at least lose the minimum) is by avoiding the games that offer the worst odds. Consider what it costs to play, the amount of the prize, the number of cards being played, and the number of squares to be filled in the game pattern.

Compare, for example, a game that costs $1 a card and pays $50, with about 100 cards in play, and a game that costs the same $1 a card and pays $100, with 200 cards in play. Your odds of winning are better in the first game, of course: 1 in 100 vs. 1 in 200. But the payout (50 to 1 vs. 100 to 1) makes the two games about even, if you’re in bingo for the money, rather than just the thrill of victory.

Keep in mind that few games of chance return such a low percentage of the proceeds as bingo. Bingo operations may Keep between 25 percent and 40 percent of the buy-in money. The best payout that you can find is 80 percent at most. If you hope to win at bingo, understanding the payout is an important consideration.

Your best chance to win is to find bingo games that have the worst atmosphere: anything that might reduce the number of players-or, more precisely, the number of cards being played-will improve your odds. If you can do without cozy surroundings and great lighting and free drinks or whatever else might attract players, then you can avoid the bigger crowds and seek out better odds. Of course, such parlors may not be very much fun to visit. On the other hand, if you’re just playing for fun and the off-chance of winning, then pick the parlor you find most inviting.

We’ve also mentioned that many players try to increase their chances of winning by playing more cards. That strategy seems statistically sound: players who play more cards are more likely to win, but they’re also investing more money in the game and according to at least one gambling expert their chances of losing are about the same. Of course, if you can get a deal by buying several cards, so that you’re not paying the full price, then you’ve got a little advantage in terms of your investment.

Some experts advise players to purchase and get as many numbers as they can on a maximum of four cards, to balance numerical coverage and financial investment. But there’s nothing magical about having four cards. Many bingo players believe in choosing cards that contain certain numbers in strategic locations on the cards, such as in diagonals and corners or “high-win” squares in straight bingo. (The 16 high-win squares are the squares in any rows of five that include the center, free square.) They swear by “lucky” numbers, digits that have a special significance to them, for whatever reason. Do people who play by “special numbers” win more often? No- but they probably get more passionately involved in the game than other players. Unless you’re in it just for the money, that emotional excitement can be a big part of playing bingo.

Along similar lines, many players trust in their good luck charms: trinkets, photographs, rabbit’s feet, four-leaf clovers, religious objects, and other items. Some keep them in their pockets, while others place them around their game cards. Some people play according to their astrological signs and the horoscope. Again, there doesn’t seem to ‘be any charm that’s definitely advantageous, but the curious assortment of things certainly makes bingo games more colorful.

Speaking of color, we should probably add here that many bingo players believe in the power of colors, and their clothes reflect this. For example, red is associated with energy, exerting a vital magnetism. Some players prefer green, the color of money, in hopes that it will attract more of the same. Add a lucky hat or a magical scarf to an outfit of a chosen color, and they believe the ensemble will ensure they win!

Some players like to choose a lucky seat, a particular location in the room that seems auspicious, perhaps facing a certain direction. (That’s not unlike people who will choose a particular table in a restaurant. Does that location actually improve the food? Not likely. Does it make the food seem to taste better? Some would swear by it.) Others like to have a lot of elbow room, or room to stretch out their legs and be more comfortable. Do such preferences improve their chances of winning? Yes, but only to the extent that the players can concentrate better on the numbers called.

One published guide to winning consistently at bingo provides some recommendations for gaining a numerical advantage through the laws of probability. It advises players to study the patterns of numbers drawn as each game progresses, then to try choosing game cards that fit those patterns. This guide also suggests trying to choose cards with a lot of numbers in “the median range” although what that term means isn’t really clear!

One suggestion is that you should select cards that cover a wide range of numbers. Someone has calculated that in three cards chosen at random, the combined 72 squares will average 22 duplicate numbers and 25 missing numbers. So, it’s reasoned, you should choose cards that cover as many of the seventy-five numbers as possible. That makes sense in terms of hitting on more numbers as they’re drawn, which is good for a psychological boost, but some players might argue that a single number that shows up on three cards is as helpful as three numbers that show up on one card each.

Also, this strategy doesn’t work for coverall or blackout games. In fact, the opposite strategy is recommended: you should choose cards that have as many duplicated numbers as possible (the locations of the duplicated numbers are of no importance). This is the number concentration method. To maximize on this strategy, try to choose about six numbers (odds and evens, high and low) to be heavily duplicated. The reasoning behind this strategy is to fill up as many squares as quickly as you can, since only forty-eight to fifty numbers will be drawn. You should also buy as many cards as possible if playing coverall or blackout.

At the risk of confusing you, it should be mentioned that some players recommend another strategy for coverall games, the even distribution method. This strategy consists of choosing cards that cover as many of the seventy-five numbers as possible.

So, there are two opposite approaches to winning at coverall. Which one makes more sense? That’s up to you. You may want to experiment a little with both approaches. There certainly must be reasons for bingo experts to disagree so fundamentally!

Some players advocate a system of tracking numbers. To use this system, according to one expert, you need to play four cards at most for each game. You bring along to each bingo session a sheet of paper listing the numbers from 1 to 75, then check off each number as it’s called, for the entire session of games. Do this for at least five sessions. (It seems to be assumed that you play in the same parlor and that the same mechanism is used for dispensing the numbers at each game.) Then, you gather your tracking sheets and count the number of times that each of the 75 numbers was called. Divide that tally by 75 to determine the relative probability of each number. Then, the next time you play bingo, select your cards to take maximum advantage of the numbers that you’ve tracked as most likely to be drawn.

One essential point to bear in mind when a friend or a book recommends a certain mathematical system: so much depends on the type of game. The guide that advises players to focus on the “high-win” squares may give you an advantage, but only in straight bingo. That system may not do you any good if you’re playing an H pattern, for instance.

Also, you may not be free to choose the game cards. In that case, of course, no mathematical system would help you win. We should add that it could be very frustrating if you have your heart set on a certain configuration of certain numbers. It’s been calculated that there are 111,007,923,832,370,565 possible configurations of those twenty-four numbered squares!

All in all, whatever may be said about bingo, it remains basically a lottery. Consider the following definition:

A lottery is any scheme for the disposal or distribution of property, by chance, among persons who have paid or promised to pay any valuable consideration for the chance of obtaining such property, or a portion of it, or for any such property upon any agreement, understanding, or expectation that it is to be distributed or disposed of by lot or chance, by whatever name the same shall be known.

A lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but that description certainly applies to bingo: a game of chance. (If you’re curious, that passage is from the gaming laws for Nevada where millions play bingo for money every year. Go figure!)