Bingo is a game of chance that is played all across the world. It was first played in Italy in 1530 as part of their weekly lottery known as Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that bingo is still played every Saturday in Italy.
Bingo moved across to France towards the end of the 1770s where it was played by wealthy French noblemen. The Germans also played a version of the game in the 1800s, but in Germany, it was typically used for school children to learn mathematics, spelling, and history.
Finally, the game was exported to the UK. And, it reached North America in 1929 where it was first known as “beano.” It was first played in Atlanta and Western Pennsylvania travelling carnivals until a New York salesman, Edwin S. Lowe, discovered it and brought the game to New York. The name soon changed to “bingo” when an overexcited woman was heard to cry out “bingo” instead of “beano” when she won the game.
Lowe employed a University of Columbia mathematics professor, Carl Leffler, to increase the number of unique number combinations to reduce duplications. Leffler came up with 6000 different combinations, reducing the number of repeating groups and reducing the risk of multiple winners in a game.
The question that is probably being asked is, why is this information relevant?
Well, the concise answer is that, apart from the fact that it is useful to understand the origins of the game, this brief history of bingo illustrates both its global popularity and its development as a game of chance.
Carl Leffler’s development of 6000 different combinations for bingo playing cards to reduce the number of repeating groups and the risk of multiple winners in a game, points to the true randomness of the game. Ergo, both sides, the playing card, and the game caller, albeit human or mechanical, increase the odds of winning. The stated odds of winning at lotto, which has its origins in bingo, are between 1 in 4.096 and 1 in 33.554 million.
Consequently, it is essential to employ several little-known tactics to increase your odds of winning. You should be interested in playing bingo, especially online £5 deposit bingo offered by most online casinos and virtual bingo halls such as wdwbingo.co.uk.
Here is a list of these tactics that you can employ to enhance your chances of winning at bingo:
1. Be alert
As described above, bingo consists of two parts, the playing card, and the random number generator or caller that calls out the numbers that have been randomly selected. The pace of the game will vary depending on the seriousness of the game. And, because the first person that calls out “bingo” when they have fulfilled the requirements to win the game, wins, it is essential to be alert, to find the called numbers on your playing card as quickly as possible, and to be quick to alert the person in charge of the game that you are the winner. Otherwise, someone else will be quick off the mark and win.
2. Know the rules
There are several bingo variants. Two of the most common variants include 75-ball or British bingo and 90-ball or American bingo. This number indicates the total number of balls as well as the total number of squares on a playing card used in the game. Ergo, 75-ball bingo has 75 squares on the playing card and a total of 75 balls with unique numbers. In a similar vein, 90-ball bingo uses a 90-square playing card and a total of 90 different numbers for the game.
There are also several different winning combinations such as the traditional 5 numbers in a row, blackout, X, and corners.
Thus, it is essential to ensure that you know which bingo variant is being played and which winning combination is applicable.
3. Using implied probability calculations to even the odds
Bingo is a game of chance where both sides of the equation, the player and the random number generator or caller are random. However, it is possible to increase the odds of winning by keeping track of the numbers called and played and using implied probability calculations to determine how many balls are left.
For example, let’s assume that the current game of bingo is using 90 balls. Thus, the pattern of called numbers should include an even distribution of high and low numbers, odd and even numbers, and numbers ending in the first nine digits, 0 – 9. And, the longer that the game goes on without a winner, the likelihood of winning is greater.
Consequently, by keeping track of the numbers called, you can, based on this theory determine which numbers are next. If you are just tracking the odd-even number patterns, even if several odd numbers are called in a row, the implied probability of an even number being called is still 50%.
Additionally, the way to increase the odds of winning is to reduce the randomness of one side of the game. Therefore, another tactic to employ based on this premise is to buy fewer books and play more games. In this way, you are reducing the randomness on one side of the equation.
4. Play as many books as you can simultaneously
At first glance, this tip seems counterintuitive to the previous advice on reducing the number of books you buy and increasing the number of games you play.
The salient point here is that the more books you play at the same time during a single game, the greater the chance you have of winning. It doesn’t apply to the number of books in relation to the number of games that you play. However, the success of this secret is dependent on how many books you can manage without getting confused. This tactic is also successful for online bingo. It’s similar to playing at more than one online poker table simultaneously. The caveat with online gambling games is that the gameplay is a lot faster than physical games with a human caller. Therefore, it is essential to keep up and to practice keeping up before taking on too many playing books or cards simultaneously.
