Bingo relies heavily on chance but so does poker, pool, and, to some extent, even chess. That doesn’t stop players from creating strategies to increase their chances of winning.
If you are thinking of playing bingo online against other players for real money, you must learn how to win bingo games based on statistically sound tactics. This article will cover two well-known bingo game strategies that pull the odds in your favor.
We’ll also cover some tips on how to prepare for games and manage your expectations. Playing bingo is a great pass time with chances of winning side money, but you won’t become a bingo master overnight.
The Best Bingo Strategies
The player’s objective in bingo is seemingly simple – to mark off numbers in certain patterns on bingo cards. Having more valuable patterns than other players results in you winning the game.
Before you learn any of the strategies, it’s essential to understand bingo patterns and know which ones apply to your online bingo game. There are some variations, but generally, these are the main bingo patterns.
Basic Bingo Patterns:
- one line
- two lines
- Full house (also called Blackout)
- Four corners
Complex Bingo Patterns:
- Letter X
- Pyramid
- Outside Edge
- Arrow
The list is far from conclusive. Depending on the bingo game, not all patterns you collect will give you points. Online bingo games might also have special patterns with colors or aspects of other slot or card games mixed in.
Online bingo tournaments also use various boosts or power-ups that add additional strategy elements to bingo. Winning strategies with them rely on what that particular game offers, but generally, they still result in you collecting more patterns.
Instead of covering each online bingo game, we will approach bingo in a more general fashion. Understanding the below real-life bingo strategies will help you get better at online bingo games as well.
Granville’s Method
Besides bingo, this method is also known to stock market traders as a way to forecast price movements. It was created by a financial analyst, J. Granville, and involves balancing the different types of numbers on your cards.
The idea here is that the more evenly distributed the numbers on your bingo cards are, the better your chances of finding bingo patterns.
Let’s assume we have a standard American Bingo with 75 balls. Number distribution can be measured according to these types:
- High and low numbers. You want an even distribution of numbers above and below 37.
- Even and odd numbers. Ideally, there should be an equal amount of even and odd numbers.
- Final digits. The distribution of how your numbers end (from 0 to 9) should be as even as possible.
Granville’s theory works because, according to probability theory, bingo numbers are uniformly distributed. That is, they all have equally likely outcomes to be called.
Bingo apps with other players have mechanics that can change this probability by adding other factors, such as color, and allowing players to change the numbers on their bingo cards during the game.
Despite such changes in rules, the main idea behind Granville’s method can still be applied. You must aim to use in-game mechanics to find or create as evenly distributed cards as possible.
Tippett’s Method
Another winning bingo strategy comes from a British statistician, L. Tippett. Here, the strategy relies on a basic concept in statistics – normal distribution.
If the bingo game is actually random, it will have a normal distribution, which means that statistically, the number distribution will deviate towards the median. In a 75-ball bingo, this median is 38.
The caveat here is the length of the game. If a game is long enough, the numbers around 38 will appear eventually. If a game is short, the bingo match might get skewed towards the less frequent numbers 1 and 75.
So, the winning strategy, according to Tippett’s Method, is twofold.
- For longer games, choose bingo cards with more numbers around the median, which is 38 for a 75-ball game.
- For shorter games, choose cards skewed towards the start and end. A 75-ball game will require going with things around 1 and 75.
Just as with Granville’s method, the additional mechanics of online games will change the probability calculations. The idea behind Tippet’s method is useful when choosing a platform or a game type you will play.
If you play long games with many players, aim for cards with numbers around the median. They are more likely or even guaranteed to be called during the game.
If you play a short one-on-one match with time controls, aiming to change your numbers for those at the edges (1 or 75) will increase your chances of winning.
5 Tips on How to Win at Online Bingo
Implementing a bingo strategy into your game will surely increase your chances of winning. Statistically speaking, at least. Besides numbers, you also need to consider playing bingo games consistently, at the right time, and on the right platforms.
The below tips are all about your own mindset when approaching online bingo. We could consider them a “meta-strategy” when you play bingo games for money.
Choosing The Right Bingo Site
There are dozens of great bingo apps that pay money. Each has slightly different rules, buy-in costs, payout thresholds, and player base. Jumping straight into cash tournaments where you risk losing your money is a bad idea.
A much better strategy is to try at least a few free games on different bingo apps. Try to understand the rules and, most importantly, how to win bingo games by implementing winning strategies. Not always the best bingo apps are those with the largest prize pools.
Various additional game mechanics or the popularity of the app might make it more difficult to win money. Even if the rewards are lucrative, you must prioritize your chances of winning.
Practicing How To Win Bingo
Not every bingo game has to be the one that wins you hundreds of dollars. Best players get into a routine of playing often with smaller groups to practice their strategies.
It’s the only sure way to get better and increase your chances of winning. That’s why it’s also crucial to have fun playing bingo. Otherwise, there are better ways to make money online.
Playing During Off-peak Hours
You can be a really skilled player with a high chance of winning, but if you are constantly matched against better players, you will lose. That’s a common scenario many bingo players face and one of the reasons why they leave bad reviews.
Online bingo games are very competitive, even if the apps try to balance them out with algorithms that match players of similar levels. For this reason, some bingo platforms gave beginner and intermediate rooms, but nothing beats playing during unpopular hours.
If you don’t play when all the best players compete for the biggest prizes, your chances of winning will increase. Success is even more likely if you play with smaller groups. Your bingo strategy still matters, but it will work better with less and weaker opponents.
Purchasing Multiple Cards
Playing multiple cards at the same time will statistically increase the probability of winning. The more bingo cards you have, the more potential combinations you can acquire with the same amount of numbers.
The biggest drawback with such a strategy is that some online games may ask you to bid more money to use extra cards or other similar features. You must evaluate your success rate before investing money in extra cards.
If you are playing a large game against many skilled players, investing in multiple bingo cards might be more risky. Smaller games are safer in this regard, but it all depends on how good you are.
Know Your Limits
Playing one or two cards is achievable for most bingo players, but five or more is too much for most. Find your own mental limits and play the amount of cards you can quickly react to.
Almost all bingo game apps have some penalties for mistakes, and you are more likely to make them with more cards.
There are also budget constraints. If you play bingo just as a fun pastime on your phone, you are unlikely to spend more than a few dollars on bids.
Your expectations for winnings should be lower as well, and it will not make sense for you to play games that require large buy-ins.
Conclusion
There is no one sure method on how to win bingo games. Through trial and error, you’ll have to find the strategies that work for you. This article has given you the basics. Now, it’s time to play.
