Bingo
Last update: Sep. 27, 2007
For the fiscal year from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 Nevada casinos only reported a 3.21% win in bingo, according to the
2007 American Casino Guide by Steve Bourie. This would reflect an average of all bingo cards sold, a mixture of the good and the bad. In my opinion, it would be easy for the player to realize a theoretical advantage in bingo, by using good judgement about what kind of cards to buy, when to buy them, and where to play. Once the game starts it is just a matter of luck, but the player can do a lot to improve his odds by scouting out the locations with the least competition, buying the most cost efficient cards, and avoiding the many sucker bets. Here are some general tips to get you started.
- Buy the cheapest type of card. At the Coast and Station casinos here in Las Vegas there are different levels of cards. The higher the level the more you can win, most of the time. The last game usually does not proptionally reward the player for the premium cards. Read the program and if the premium cards get shortchanged in the last game, then only buy the cheap cards.
- Take advantage of quantity discounts. There are lots of packages the player can buy of multiple cards, offering an economy of scale. This is cheaper than buying packs of cards individually. I would avoid the "rainbow" packages and instead focus on large quantities of the lowest level card. For example, at the Coast casino if you buy four blue packs you get 2 free. At the Station casinos I like the "number 8", which is $77 worth of mostly level 1 cards, for $53.
- Play Monday to Thursday. The less the competition the greater your odds. Fridays and Saturdays always bring in more players, depressing the odds. Sundays are in a grey area, but personally I wait until Monday.
- Keep an eye on the field. Prizes in bingo are fixed. Your odds are inversely proportional to the number of competing cards in the room. Of course you won't know exactly how many cards you are up against, but the more you play the better you will be at estimating the competition. Here are some ways to estimate the number the competing cards in the room.
- Note how many people are in the room.
- Listen to what other people are buying, while waiting in line.
- Glance at other player's receipts for the number of packs purchased.
- Keep records of how much you spend and how much you win at each session, day, and property.
- At least make mental notes of how close you get when you don't win. In particular how often you care cased (just one ball away from winning).
- Listen for the case alert on other players' machines. When playing an electronic unit a beeping sound is made when the player becomes cased. If you hear a lot of beeping while you're a long ways from winning, then it is likely there is a lot of competition.
- Experienced players can get a feel for the number of players according to when a bingo hits, the distribution of calls in the five columns, and how many people tie for a win. My probabilities in bingo can help with this.
- Validate Selectively. For an additional fee the player can "validate" his cards. Early in the session a ball will be drawn randomly, called the "cash ball." After this point, if a player calls bingo when the last ball drawn is the cash ball, then the player will win a progressive cash ball jackpot. Like any progressive game the odds swing in the player's favor at some point. My advice is to only validate when the jackpot is comparitively high for the given session.
- Avoid Side Bets. This is in my Ten Commandments of Gambling. When I wrote it I was thinking only of table games, but it applies to bingo as well. The only exception I can think of is the Big 3 at Station casinos. Like any progressive game it is possible the odds can swing in the player's favor if the jackpot gets large enough. However you're much better off to never play it than always play it.
Other bingo pages
Palace Station Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Boulder Station Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Texas Station Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Sunset Station Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Santa Fe Station Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Red Rock Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Fiesta Henderson Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
Coast Casinos Cash Ball Jackpots for 2007.
My probabilities in bingo page.
Coast Casinos bingo official web site.
Station Casinos bingo official web site
Links
German translation of this bingo page.
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