Bingo Games

Bingo Games

Playing bingo can be very exciting, and over recent years bingo enthusiasts have found that they can enjoy their gaming experience in a realistic environment without even having to leave their homes, thanks to the emergence of high quality online bingo sites such as Gala Bingo, Astro Bingo, and Foxy Bingo, amongst others. As with regular bingo halls, these online bingo sites offer different types of games for players to enjoy, and with many sites offering free practice sessions before you sign up and play for money, you can spend time getting used to the different games before you actually spend any real cash on playing.

Below are some of the different games that you will be able to play when you join an online bingo site:

Single line win games:
Single Line Win
The classic single line win game is where you mark off your numbers as the bingo caller calls them out. You win the specified prize if you are the first to mark off all of the numbers on one line on your ticket.

Two line win games:
Two Line Win
The two line win game works along the same lines as a one line game, but in order to win the specified prize you need to be the first to mark off all of your numbers on two lines of your ticket based upon the numbers called out by the bingo caller.

Full house games:
Full House
The full house game usually offers the largest prize, and this is where you have to be the first to mark off all of the numbers on your ticket in order to win, based upon the numbers called out by the caller.

The three types of bingo games above are played as part of 90-ball bingo, which is the classic UK bingo game, where cards have nine columns and three rows, with each ticket containing fifteen numbers. The three rows on the ticket each contain five numbers, and to win a one line game you must be able to mark off all of the five numbers in one row; to win the two line game you must be able to mark off all of the numbers in two of these rows; and to win the full house game you must be able to mark off the numbers in all three of the rows.

American Bingo:
A newer trend emerging amongst online bingo gaming sites is American Bingo, which is a seventy-five ball bingo game, and is played on cards/tickets that have five rows and five columns, with a free centre square in most cases. Each game requires the player to mark off the numbers in a set pattern as specified at the start of the game, and the first to mark off all of their numbers to form that pattern wins. You can also play full house games with American Bingo, where you have to mark off all of the numbers on your card based on the number called in order to win, and this is known as a Blackout in American Bingo.

Bingo Lingo

01 – Kelly’s Eye
02 – One Little Duck
03 – Cup of Tea
04 – Knock at the Door
05 – Man Alive
06 – Tom Mix
07 – Lucky 7
08 – Garden Gate
09 – Doctors Orders
10 – Tony’s Den
11 – Legs Eleven
12 – One Dozen
13 – Unlucky for Some
14 – Valentines Day
15 – Young and Keen
16 – Sweet Sixteen
17 – Dancing Queen
18 – Coming of Age
19 – Goodbye-Teens
20 – One Score
21 – Key of the Door
22 – Two Little Ducks
23 – Thee and Me
24 – Two Dozen
25 – Duck and Dive
26 – Pick and Mix
27 – Gateway to Heaven
28 – Over Weight
29 – Rise and Shine
30 – Dirty Gertie
31 – Get up and Run
32 – Buckle my Shoe
33 – Dirty Knee
34 – Ask for More
35 – Jump and Jive
36 – Three Dozen
37 – More than Eleven
38 – Christmas Cake
39 – Steps
40 – Naughty Forty
41 – Time for Fun
42 – Winnie the Pooh
43 – Down on your Knees
44 – Droopy Drawers
45 – Halfway There 46 – Up to Tricks
47 – Four and Seven
48 – Four Dozen
49 – PC
50 – Half a Century
51 – Tweak of the Thumb
52 – Danny La Rue
53 – Stuck in the Tree
54 – Clean the Floor
55 – Snakes Alive
56 – Was she worth it
57 – Heinz Varieties
58 – Make them Wait
59 – Brighton Line
60 – Five Dozen
61 – Bakers Bun
62 – Turn on the Screw
63 – Tickle Me
64 – Red Raw
65 – Old Age Pension
66 – Clickety Click
67 – Made in Heaven
68 – Saving Grace
69 – Either Way Up
70 – Three Score & Ten
71 – Bang on the Drum
72 – Six Dozen
73 – Queen B
74 – Candy Store
75 – Strive & Strive
76 – Trombones
77 – Sunset Strip
78 – Heavens Gate
79 – One More Time
80 – Eight & Blank
81 – Stop & Run
82 – Straight On Through
83 – Time for Tea
84 – Seven Dozen
85 – Staying Alive
86 – Between the Sticks
87 – Torquay in Devon
88 – Two Fat Ladies
89 – Nearly There
90 – Top of the Shop

Extra Features at Paddy Power Bingo

Paddy Power Bingo have upgraded, bringing players loads of extra new features but keeping everything that makes it one of the most popular and most loved online bingo sites out there, like great CM’s, chat rooms, tourneys, fabulous games and promotions.

Here’s what you will find from now on:

More Free Money
Paddy Power Bingo will double whatever you stake on bingo games up to £50 if you are new to the site. All you need to do is register an account and stake £5 within the first 24 hours of creating your alias.

More Rooms
Paddy now have 6 great bingo rooms plus 2 new community games. There’s a NEW 80-Ball bingo in Silver and a NEW 90-Ball speed bingo. The Gold Room is now also open all day, every day with tickets from just 1p and great prizes. Furthermore, if you are not sure which room you’d like to play in, check out Paddy’s Room Finder Guide

Bigger Jackpots
if you like big jackpots Paddy Power Bingo now has the daily BingoLinx guaranteed games three times a day with £7.5K guaranteed every day. Also, there is £10K guaranteed on the last Sunday of every month!

More Games
Paddy Power Bingo now has over 55 games for players to choose from, including Marine Mayhem, Joker Poker, Big Top Tombola, Clover Rollover and Pet Luck. All great fun!

Extra Currencies
Now you can also play bingo at Paddy Power in Euros so if you prefer this option you can switch to it and view bingo card prices, jackpots and winnings solely in Euros.

Play Now At Paddy Power Bingo

Bingo Strategies

Proven Bingo Strategies

Believe it or not, bingo may be a game of chance, but there are ways to swing the odds in your favor. This article contains some of them. They were developed by renowned mathematical analyst Joseph E. Granville, who achieved fame for creating a series of successful strategies for the stock market.

Granville says that the most important factor in a successful bingo strategy is card selection. When selecting cards, he advises players to carefully consider the word random. According to Granville, it is in clearly understanding the nuances of random numbers where players can get their advantage.

For purposes of clarity, let’s discuss random in the context of a 75-ball bingo game – a game with 75 balls, ranging from number one to number 75. In the first draw, the probability of any ball coming up first is the same — they all have 1-in-75 odds to come up first. That’s called uniform distribution and, in such cases, there are patterns that will fall under the law of probability. There is a strong tendency for three things to occur:

(1) There will be the same quantity of numbers ending in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and so on.
(2) There will be a balance between the number of odd and even numbers picked.
(3) There will be a balance between high and low numbers picked.

Granville called these the three accepted tests of randomness. If the selection of numbers does not meet these tests, then the selection has some bias and is not random.

In the book “Sampling,” English statistician L. H. C. Tippett added a fourth test — As a random sample is increased in size, it gives a result that comes closer and closer to the population value.

In simple terms, the 75 numbers in the bingo game are the population. That population’s value is the average of numbers 1 to 75, which would be 38. And while the first numbers called in a bingo game will not show an average of 38, Tippett’s theory is that once more numbers are called and the games proceed, the average of the numbers will predictably approach 38. The greater the quantity of the numbers called, the greater the likelihood that they will average 38.

Let’s apply those tests to the game itself.

In the first 10 numbers called in a game, have you noticed that there is a preponderance of numbers having different digit endings? Bingo players hardly notice this since most of them are concentrating on their cards and not on the numbers flashed on the master board. But try to notice it some time. Since it only takes about 10 to 12 calls before a game ends and a winner is declared, paying attention to the numbers called will help you predict the numbers that are likely to be called in succeeding games and tell you how to select cards with higher chances of winning.

Consider the first test above – “There will be the same quantity of numbers ending in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and so on.” That means, with 10 to 12 calls in a regular game, there will be a strong tendency for a number ending in 1, another ending in 2, another ending in 3 and so on to be called. That’s simple probability. For instance, if the first number called was N-31, then the probability of the second number also ending in digit 1 is less, simply because there are more balls left ending in other digits than 1. Hence, the chance of other digits not ending in 1 to be called is more.

Eventually, over several games, the number of times each number is called will balance out and the first test will prove itself to be true. “There will be the same quantity of numbers ending in 1’s, 2’s, 3’s, 4’s and so on.”

Therefore, if the first bingo game was won by a card featuring numbers ending in 1’s and 3’s, the likelihood of the next winning card featuring several numbers ending in 1’s and 3’s is remote. If the second game was won by a card with numbers ending in 5’s and 9’s, then the probability of the third game being won by a card with several numbers ending in 5’s and 9’s is slim. For the third and succeeding games, select a card that has few or no numbers ending in 1’s, 3’s, 5’s and 9’s since it has a better chance of winning. Then vary your strategy in succeeding games depending on what numbers are called.

The same also goes for winning cards with a lot of high or low numbers (say, for one-line bingo). If there were a lot of high numbers called in the first game, you can count on a lot of low numbers being called in the next game. Remember, the numbers drawn are likely to eventually average 38. Hence, for the next game, pick a card with a lot of low numbers. These low numbers, when added to the previous numbers called, will have a tendency to average 38.

Clearly, the examples stated here are over-simplifying Granville and Tippett’s tests, but that’s only to give you, the reader, a clear idea of how they work in practice. In actual games, it may take complex records of numbers called to clearly identify the trends we present here in their simplicity. Either that or a very good memory.

Understanding Bingo Bonuses

Online Bingo Bonuses are available from nearly every single Bingo vendor and are often a great opportunity to make you bankroll look really impressive, but are they really as good as they look ?

Nobody gives away free cash for nothing and there is always some kind of catch when you accept a bonus, normally this is in the form of what’s known as a play-through or a wagering requirement. These will differ massively for each Bingo Room and its worth getting a proper understanding of what the wagering requirements might be before accepting your bonus.

As an illustration to how this works, let’s look at an example from a Bingo Hall that has a 5x Play-Through before any money can be cashed out.
In this example £100 is deposited using Neteller and £100 is added to your account as the 100% match bonus.

* If you buy £100 worth of bingo cards and win £400, your new balance is now £500 (£400 winnings and your £100 bonus) You are not yet entitled to cash in any money as you have not yet gambled 5x your initial deposit, you have only actually gambled 1x your initial deposit (The £100 worth of cards you purchased)
* If you buy £200 worth of cards and win £300, then spend all of your £300 balance on more cards, anything you win is yours to keep, as you have gambled 5x your initial deposit and completed the wagering requirement to be able to cash out.

There are many other conditions that can appear in the terms and conditions and you should make sure you understand exactly what these are before you accept a bonus, here are a few more to look out for;

* Sometimes you will be required to gamble both your deposit and the bonus amount a certain number of times before being able to cashout, ie. Deposit £100 and get your 100% (£100) bonus, you will now be required to wager atleast 5x both your deposit and bonus amount (£1000) before you can cash out.
* Wagering requirements range from 1x to 50x your initial deposit (and sometimes the bonus as well) so it’s worth making sure you understand these before you proceed.
* Sometimes you are not allowed to cash out your bonus, only cash that you have won playing with your initial bonus.

Now I have made these bonuses sound quite scary and almost predatory, I should go on to explain the benefits of a bonus.

* Your bankroll is made to look considerably healthier!
* You can play many more games than you would be able to normally with the same amount of cash
* Smaller wagering requirements are reached surprisingly easily
* Hitting a jackpot with your bonus will make it easy to meet the wagering requirements and accepting the bonus gives you more chances to hit the jackpot.

Some Bingo Halls will make it very easy for you to understand exactly where you are with your bonus by displaying the cash amounts and bonus amounts separately and as you meet the wagering requirements for the bonus it is moved into your cash balance which is yours to withdrawal at any time.

Tips and Tricks

Online Bingo Tips and Tricks

In online bingo, the most important thing about winning is to avoid making mistakes. At least, that’s what a lot of people believe. After all, it’s a game of luck and there’s not much you can do to change your luck or improve your chances of winning, right? Wrong! There are a lot of tips and tricks that bingo players can learn to improve their potential for winning. Here are some of the best.

Avoid busy games like the plague
Overcrowded games with a huge number of cards in play are stack greatly against your favor. With so many cards in competition, your chances of winning are slight. It’s better for you to find a game where the prize is relatively big while the number of cards in play is relatively small – then buy more cards to improve your chances of winning. That’s how you make the percentages work in your favor.

Try some more expensive games
The attraction of low cost games is the low risk — a player doesn’t spend or lose a lot. The downside is the low reward – a player can’t win all that much because the prizes are notoriously small. You will find much bigger prizes (and much less competition) at the more expensive games.

Join a regular online bingo community
Some players jump from one bingo site to another. For relatively new players, this is a sure way to stunt your growth. A newbie should stick to a single bingo community. That way, he can get to know the people and benefit from their wisdom and experience in the game. He gets sage advice and tips about online bingo, and it’s all free.

Search for the best bonuses
Online Bingo Finder offers many double-your-money bonuses and other attractive promotional schemes. However, don’t expect to hear about them from other players since veteran players keep such things secret to avoid competition. Try to read the review section regularly for great bonuses and great deals.

Change cards
Gamblers can be very superstitious and superstition has a way of turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you feel that the cards you’re holding are unlucky, change them. After all, online bingo sites let you do that for free, so seize the opportunity.

Play at a reputable bingo site
Don’t fall victim to a crooked Web site. For your own protection and peace of mind, only play at the best online bingo sites around – the ones with a reputation for reliability and fair play. Our review section will provide you with everything you need to know.

How to Play Online Bingo

There used to be a widespread belief that online bingo was mainly an old person’s game, but recent studies have blasted this myth. They say that about 90% of the nine million people who play online bingo every week fall below the age of 50.

Clearly, online bingo is not a game for the old. On the contrary, there seems to be evidence that online bingo is a favorite past time of people in their twenties. In the UK, for example, where online bingo is very popular, playing bingo on the Internet is the favorite leisure activity of women between the ages of 20 and 25.

There used to be a widespread belief that online bingo was mainly an old person’s game, but recent studies have blasted this myth. They say that about 90% of the nine million people who play online bingo every week fall below the age of 50.

Clearly, online bingo is not a game for the old. On the contrary, there seems to be evidence that online bingo is a favorite past time of people in their twenties. In the UK, for example, where online bingo is very popular, playing bingo on the Internet is the favorite leisure activity of women between the ages of 20 and 25.

Since bingo is so easy to play, it’s no surprise why it’s a favorite among people of all ages. Whether it’s a land-based or online bingo game, the rules are the same. A dealer draws randomly-selected numbers (in online bingo, through a random number generator) and players match the drawn numbers to the cards they are holding, based on a previously specified pattern. The first player who completes the specified pattern is the winner. The winner then claims his/her prize and a new game begins.

In addition, players can use special features online to make playing easier. For instance, there’s the auto-daub button which marks off the drawn numbers on your card automatically. Some online games also have “Best Card Sorting” or “Best Card Highlighting” features that can help a player sort his cards and highlight the ones that are close to winning. Smart online bingo operators installed these features to allow players to have more time to chat with others in the game.

The chat application is another special feature of an online gaming site. It adds an entirely new dimension to the bingo experience — inter-action with other players. Through chat, players can meet and exchange their views during online games as opposed to land-based bingo where this is strictly prohibited.

There are two main types of online bingo games. There’s American or Canadian bingo (25 numbers, five rows) or bingo as its played in the UK, Australia and New Zealand (27 numbers, three rows). Combined, both games account for revenues running into several billion dollars a year.

New online bingo players can join a game on two kinds of online sites. The first requires you to download free software before you can join. The other uses Java or Flash-based games and players can join immediately upon registration.

Also, players can choose between free bingo games or cash games. A lot of bingo sites provide free gambling chips upon registration, usually calculated as a percentage of a player’s sign-up fee or initial deposit. These free chips allow the player to experience the thrill of online bingo without the risk. At the same time, the player gets to familiarize himself with the site, the gameplay and the various functions and commands. If he’s lucky, he can even win some cash without investing a dime. Some sites provide free sandbox play, with no deposit required. Unfortunately, players can’t take home their winnings.

To qualify for the largest prizes, a player must have an account on the site. Players can fund their account through a variety of e-wallet options, such as Neteller, Citadel, Firepay and PrePaidATM.

Origins of gambling

Anthropologists agree that data collected in the 20th century demonstrated that gambling took place within a large portion of the population of the greatest societies to have existed. Historical and archaeological evidence validate the existence of gambling throughout the ages and culture of most civilisations.

Earliest exhibits of gambling are dated as far back as 2300 B.C. in ancient China where gambling artefacts have been excavated.

A set of ivory dice dating from before 1500 BC were salvaged from Thebes, while specific writings mentioning gambling were found on a tablet in the Pyramid of Cheops.
1500 BC Ivory Dice Salavaged from Thebes

Ivory dice dating 1500 BC.
First trace of gambling in England

In the UK, evidences in the form of legal documents show that in 1388, Richard II forced the people to spend money on military items rather than on gambling.

Further documents reveal that in the 14th century King Henry VIII was known as an avid gambler and dice player during his life time. He would gamble huge amounts of money ranging from 5,000 to 500,000 pounds! However the king did outlaw gambling on the ground that it weakened military ability and disrupted social order.
The origins of Bingo

Bingo is derived from lottery games. Some researches indicate that the early form of lotteries was played as far as the Roman time. Lotteries go so far back as the bible in which various paragraph mention the game. Caesar is known to have adopted lottery games to fund the repair needed to be undertaken in Rome. Legend has it that even the Great Wall of China was paid for by the proceeds of lottery games

Online Bingo

Online bingo is the most advanced and sophisticated form available of the game in the long history of bingo (click here to read our detailed bingo history section). The games rules follow the same basis as the ones found in Bingo hall but there are fundamental changes which allow bingo to adapt for this media.

There are 3 distinctive bingo types; bingo 75 balls a version predominantly played in the US of which the main goal is to complete the bingo card before anyone else to match the given pattern following a draw of 75 balls; bingo 90 balls mostly played in the UK and Europe where the aim is to achieve the completion of 1 horizontal line, 2 horizontal lines and a full house (completion of the entire card) before anyone else within a draw of 90 balls and bingo 80 balls, also mostly played in the UK and Europe for which the aim is to completed 1 or 2 lines whether being horizontal, vertical or diagonal within a draw of 80 numbers. (Detailed rules can be found at the following links: How to play 75 balls, How to play 90 balls, How to play 80 balls,).

One significant difference between online and offline is that users are no longer require to daub (stamp or tic) their numbers on their bingo cards as this is automatically undertaken by the application program.

Another is that users no longer need to make a claim to obtain their prize. Traditionally, the rules of bingo in halls would be that when a player completes a line or full house by daubing the relevant number drawn on their card, he/she would be required to announce it loudly in order to claim the relevant prize. The claim and card would then be checked by a staff member to validate it. The varied and inconstant internet connection accesses have forced bingo developers to remove the human claim as it would be impossible to track the validity of whether one had claim before another. Instead, the bingo system settles the draw on behalf of the user and automatically determines the winner. All of the above result in the games being a much faster and sophisticated experience than the offline one. However, you no longer have the physical contact which the clubs offer.

The most considerable and vital aspect of online bingo is the chat rooms which play a key role in replacing the social aspect of bingo clubs. As players are no longer meeting each other in halls and clubs, the chat area becomes the missing link for community and gossip exchange. This function is also being used to play chat games (more in our bingo chat section).

As for the games that club players used to play on physical machines and in between bingo games, the online bingo players can choose to play from a large selection at a click of a button

All in all, The consequences of bringing the games to the internet is that, bingo has evolved to a quicker game, it has revitalised the industry and is now played by a newer and wider audience, a crowd who no longer consider bingo as an old game, a crowd which as a result of the media anonymous property and great accessibility has attracted a wider and mixed audience involving males and younger females. The Traditional, the typical bingo player being seen as the old granny who gets picked up on a Saturday night with all her other granny pals to enjoy a night in a room packed with smoke puffing does no longer exists. Statistics demonstrate that the majority of audience players are aged between 18 and 55 with an estimated 75% of female.

The internet has revolutionised Bingo and the games you now see online are at their infant stage. One can only predict how the game will develop in the future. The arrival of new technologies, new media platforms and the increase demand will, no doubt present us with better and more sophisticated bingo applications.

Online bingo is not new, Cyber Bingo was the first operator to launch a bingo online in 1996 in the US but this was a far cry from the application we now are presented with. Another early pioneer was Uproar who launched Bingo Blitz in 1998.

However the proliferation and growth of bingo on the internet accelerated in 2004 with the improvement of internet technologies, spread of broadband access and investment from Large group such as Gala Bingo, Mecca Bingo and Foxy Bingo. In the UK, the world’s most developed online bingo market, the number of web sites raised from 17 in 2004 to a whopping 243 in 2008. Last year it is estimated online Bingo industry earned 120 million pounds on 650 million pounds revenue. The gambling commission indicates that there are over 500,000 players each month.

The approach taken to soften gambling regulations by the government in the gambling Act 2005 and the UK smoking ban which took effect on 1st July 2007 has a significant impact on the migration of offline bingo players to the online version and it is predicted that according to the global gambling report, by 212 online bingo will account for 25% of the worldwide betting market and deliver in excess of 2 Billion dollars.

Furthermore many European territories have still not been penetrated by online bingo due to legislation restriction, but the European gambling act will slowly be implemented in all European countries. This will no doubt increase the proliferation and fascinating spread and growth of online bingo. We will soon see selections of languages in chat room and be able to converse on an international level with a multicultural bingo audience.

One could say that the ancient game which has evolved over the past 500 years is now entering yet another golden age and will keep millions entertained for a many years to come.

Bingo Strategy

Although bingo is classed as a game of chance, we’ve got a few pointers for you to increase your chances of winning when you play bingo online. There are two main types of bingo games, in this article we’ll discuss the 75 ball bingo variety and how you can better your chances of hitting those cool bingo jackpots.

In 75 ball bingo, you have a chance of 1 in 75 of getting a ball when the game of bingo online starts. Before we get ahead ourselves though, let’s take a look at how the game of 75 ball bingo is played.

When you play bingo online of the 75 ball variety, your bingo cards or tickets have a random selection of 25 numbers. During the bingo game the numbers will be called out one by one, until a line, full house or pattern is won during play. In online bingo this means that you have several chances to win the jackpot before someone else does. Each time a bingo number is drawn it’s posted on the screen and you can either manually check your bingo cards or use the handy auto-daub feature that most bingo online websites offer.

So if the first number to be called is I 8, you can make the following deductions. You already know that in 75 ball bingo there are 7 balls that end in the number 8. If 8 is on your bingo card, then there are 6 bingo balls left that will end in 8. This means your chance of getting another 8 is lower than for other numbers. Also, because 8 is an even number, your chances are further reduced as the number of remaining even bingo balls has declined.

Online bingo strategy is a way of looking at the probabilities that one number will appear over another. The online bingo hopper you see on the computer screen is run by a Random Number Generator, which means that there isn’t a fixed pattern for the next bingo numbers to be called. So if you are serious about improving your winning odds when you play bingo online, you need to look at the bingo cards you select.

The odds of drawing 25 winning online bingo numbers from 75 bingo balls before anyone else are not that high. However if you pay attention when you select your cards, you can increase your winning chances.

So if one of your online bingo card choices shows the numbers 1 to 5 on the first row, in terms of probability you would do well to leave this card alone, however it’s still possible that these could very well be the winning bingo numbers. You’ll find that the best online bingo players select bingo cards with an even scattering of even and odd, high and low numbers. Some even suggest that as more bingo balls are drawn the numbers left in the bingo hopper will be closer to 38, but this is an unproved bit of bingo gossip.

Choose your bingo online cards wisely and you could find that you’re hitting the online bingo jackpots a lot more frequently!

Next Page »