A Guide to Bingo Terms and Phrases
All games of chance have their own terminology, and bingo is no exception. Playing at home and in a bingo hall are very different, because the latter uses terms and designations that will sound totally unfamiliar to someone who has never played in a hall or casino before.
One of the first bingo terms you must learn is the Admission Packet. The Packet are the number of cards that you purchase in order to play in a commercial game. It is the equivalent of an admission price. In other instances, a buy-in is preferred, where you put down money to be eligible.
Other frequently used terms include early bird, which is a bingo game that serves as a preliminary to the actual session. When the Bingo Caller says "Eyes down", it is a signal that the sessions are about to commence.
Typically a player wins by covering a bingo card with counters diagonally, vertically or horizontally. However there are other special patterns used. A blackout denotes that the entire card must be filled with counters or marked. Four corners, as the name suggests, requires the edges of the card to be covered.
Bingo variations abound, and some of the most popular include Texas Blackout or Coverall. The basic rule is that if the initial number called is even, all even numbers on the card are deemed wild and should be marked. The same process is followed if the first number drawn is odd. Once all the respective numbers are marked, a blackout game proceeds.
The term Table Board Bingo stands for a special type of bingo where players attempt to complete a pattern on their card based on the design displayed by the Table Board Bingo apparatus. In Speed Bingo the numbers are barked out rapidly and a player can win with as few as three marked numbers.
In Market or Basket Bingo, competitors play for goods rather than cash. A Speed Game is similar to a blackout except numbers are drawn much faster, comparable to Speed Bingo.
The following terminology is used to describe the prizes: Cash-in-Prize connotes a money reward. The Money Ball is a special number designated before the game, which if hit, would award the player special prizes.
The jackpot is the ultimate prize in bingo. A progressive jackpot, like the lottery, increases in value until someone wins. Another variant of the progressive jackpot is Bonanza Bingo. 45 numbers are selected prior to the games, and these are marked by the players. The count starts at 48 numbers. Until someone wins, one number is added weekly.
In addition to these definitions casinos and online gambling sites assign special nicknames to the card numbers (i.e., 7 is Lucky for Some, 50 is Bulls' Eye, 81 is Stop and Run, etc).
There are more terms and definitions employed in bingo, but the abovementioned definitions and phrases will be enough to get you started. Through constant play you will learn them by heart.