"Bing" or "Housie" is a game of chance that can be played for money, used as a learning tool, or just simply to pass the time away. Before a game of bingo starts, unique bingo cards or tickets are purchased for the game. Often players play more than one ticket for each game to improve their chances of winning. A typical housie/bingo ticket contains 27 spaces, arranged in 9 columns by three rows. Each row contains 5 numbers and 4 blank spaces. Each column contains one, two or 3 numbers. The first column is for numbers 1 - 9, the second column is for numbers 10 - 19, and so on until the last column which contains numbers 80 to 90. A pattern that is needed to be achieved for that particular game is also announced. Patterns can be as simple as a straight line, two lines, or a "full house." The prize for that game is also announced. The randomly selected numbers are drawn in a variety of ways from as low tech as balls each with a different number pulled out of a bag or as high tech as a random number generator (RNG) where a series of randomly selected numbers are drawn and called out. The person announcing the numbers is called a "caller." Before the game begins the caller typically says, "eyes down" which signals the players to get ready and to concentrate on their tickets. Players then as quickly and accurately as possible search and mark their tickets for the number that was just called. Players use a "dabber" or "dauber" to mark their cards. The experienced caller pauses an appropriate amount of time in between numbers to allow the player enough time to mark their tickets. An inexperienced caller can be either too slow in calling out the next number which starts to bore the players, or too quick, which does not allow the player enough time to find the previous called number. The caller continues to call out the randomly picked numbers until a player yells out, "bingo!" The ticket is checked to verify that the ticket being used for that game is correct and that the numbers are indeed on that ticket and in the game specific pattern. If all of these factors are met, the caller announces that they have a winner. On occasion a game may have multiple winners, when this happens typically the pot is divided evenly. Bingo can also be played online and it not too different from its traditional counterpart. Many people feel that online bingo is even easier than the “old fashioned” way. All a player needs to do is click on the appropriate number that is on the monitor. There is even an “auto-daub” feature which a player can check and the computer will automatically daubed or mark the ticket without having to do so themselves. This helps to ensure that the player does not accidentally miss a number that was called. Online bingo play generally also offers the players the option for “best sorting” which arranges and highlights a players cards which are closest to bingo. With these easy to play features, players find more time to socialize during the game. Whether you want to play online, or the old fashioned way, Bingo/Housie is an entertaining way to spend some time and if you are lucky, you can win some money!
Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
