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Whether you play bingo online or at bingo clubs, the ultimate goal is to be the first one to call BINGO. This is a simple game to play, with no complicated rules to learn or any sophisticated tactics and strategies to apply in order to increase your chances of winning. It’s a game of chance and there is quite literally not much you can do to affect the outcome.
However, as even with the simplest games, there is a basic set of rules that you need to know in order play the game successfully, and enjoy it while participating in the chat room activities. Here at Bingo School, onlinebingofriends.com aims at providing you with an easy step-by-step approach to start playing bingo as quickly as possible.
We strongly recommend that you practice at Free Bingo games first. When you’re feeling confident, you can sign up to a whole list of bingo sites that give away free bingo money to new players. This means you can play free bingo games with real money and real winnings. Only when you’re absolutely confident in your knowledge of the bingo and different types of bingo games should you play for money.
How to Start Playing Online Bingo
The bingo game involves drawing random numbers and calling them out to bingo players, who will then mark their cards if the called number is available on their cards. Every bingo game has a winning pattern which is announced before the game begins. This pattern or shape must be matched exactly on the bingo card for a player to call bingo and win the prize pot. The first player who calls bingo wins the game. In situations where there are more than one winners, the prize pot is split equally.
In a nutshell, you need the following to start playing bingo online:
• Find a bingo site that suits you – Use our Bingo Search tool.
• Sign up as a new player by filling out the simple registration form
• Login to your player account – Usually no download is required
• Choose a bingo room to play in
• Get your bingo tickets
• Join the chat conversation if you prefer
• Sit back and enjoy the game!
Everything else from that point on will be done for you by the highly sophisticated, safe and secure bingo game software.
How to Play Bingo for Free?
With hundreds of online bingo sites on the internet today, it’s extremely easy to play free bingo. In fact, here at onlinebingofriends.com, we strongly recommend that you play without spending any money until you have used all the free bingo bonuses that we have listed on our website. There are hundreds of pounds of free bingo money on offer. Admittedly, most of these free bonuses are non-withdrawable except a few. However, you can still get some of the excitement and take part in the chat room activities while meeting new people.
What’s the Point in Playing Bingo for Free?
I can hear many of you out there asking this question. When you play bingo for free, the prizes you may win are usually tiny amounts, if any. Even if you win large amounts, you may not be allowed to cash them in until you made a deposit first. At some bingo sites, you may not even be allowed to enter the chat rooms if you’re a free player and you will certainly not be entered in any of the prize draws, competitions, or any other player promotions offered by the bingo site.
So why bother with the free bingo money? The most important reason is that you won’t risk a penny of your own money while practising and learning the game. This is especially true for first-time bingo players and beginners. Not only that, but you also want to try out the bingo site, explore their features, such as games, bingo rooms, ticket prices, CMs or chat moderators, bonuses and promotions and anything else that might be on offer. I don’t think any of you would buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first, right? Well, this is not much different.
In addition to this, different players have different reasons to play bingo. Not all of you may play bingo for the purpose of winning money. Bingo is a very sociable game. It’s a great past-time activity. And it’s not necessarily about winning the jackpot. You may very well be interested in just playing the game and enjoy an evening without having to spend a penny.
Bingo Cards / Bingo Tickets
The game of bingo is entirely based on bingo cards or bingo tickets. Regardless of the type of bingo game you are playing, there is always a bingo card involved. When you enter a bingo room, the first thing you must do is to get your bingo cards. Different bingo games have different types of bingo tickets but the purpose is the same; to match the bingo numbers called to your bingo tickets. The first bingo player who matches the first pattern and “calls bingo” wins the pot prize.
90-Ball Bingo Tickets
The most popular bingo game in the UK, 90 ball bingo game has a bingo card made up of 3 rows and 9 columns. Each row contains 5 numbers and 4 blanks. Each column contains 1, 2 or 3 numbers. The numbers on a 90-ball bingo card can be between 1-90. Every time a bingo number is called by the caller, the player must check their bingo cards and “daub” the card if there is a match.
75-Ball Bingo Tickets
75 ball bingo games are typically played in the USA and Canada. The bingo tickets in this type of game consists of 5 rows and 5 columns where the columns are labelled with the letters of the word B-I-N-G-O. The center of the card has a blank space. The numbers on a 75-ball bingo card can be between 1-75.
When playing online bingo, you don’t have to worry about daubing your online bingo tickets as this will all be done for you by the game software. Winners are notified while they are in the room or by email. Even if you’re not in the room at the time of the game, if you have purchased your online bingo cards in advance, the game will be automatically played for you.
Bingo Caller / Bingo Calls
In bingo halls or land-based bingo clubs, there are Bingo Callers who announce the numbers. This is usually a very quiet time in the bingo hall as all players focus on the cards in front of them to daub their matching numbers. However, in online bingo, this is completely the opposite. Usually, all chat activity happens during the game as the game itself is played automatically for you. The bingo software will call the numbers, check your cards, mark your tickets, call bingo on your behalf, announce winners and even credit the winnings in your account.
Bingo Patterns
In bingo, all bingo cards or bingo tickets are standard. But what makes the bingo game different each time is the bingo pattern. In UK bingo or 90-ball bingo, the patterns are always the same; there’s a 1-line, 2-line and a full house to be won.
In the American style 75-ball bingo, however, there are endless varieties of bingo patterns to be played. The pattern to match is announced at the start of the game. The pattern is usually a shape, such as a diamond, stamp, square, or the letters of the alphabet. The first player who matches the patterns wins the game. There are hundreds of bingo patterns in the 75-ball bingo game which makes this type of bingo game is a little more interesting than the UK version.
Bingo Loyalty Programs
Almost all online bingo sites have a loyalty program where points or rewards are offered to depositing players who purchase bingo cards or play other games. This is no different to collecting Nectar points at Sainsburys or Tesco Club points at Tesco. It’s a good way to get some of your money back, even though it’s in the form of points which can later be redeemed against more bingo cards.
There are usually many ways to collect those loyalty points. Buying bingo tickets is obviously the main method but it’s not the only one. Referring or inviting your friends to the bingo site is usually a good way to earn loyalty points and you don’t even have to spend any money. Let your friends do it for you for a change!
Another way to increase your bingo loyalty points balance is to participate in the chat games. CMs or chat moderators usually give away generous amounts of loyalty rewards just for taking part in the fun chat games. These games are also great for meeting new people in the chat rooms and having a great time too.
All loyalty points have a conversion value, such as 1000 points = £1. Once you reach a good amount of loyalty rewards balance in your account, feel free to convert them into cash and enjoy more free bingo.
Here are a few of the most rewarding bingo loyalty schemes in the market:
Gala Bingo Nectar Points
Collect 2 points for every £1 you spend playing bingo on galabingo.com.
Virgin Bingo Games V*Points
Earn V*POINTS for cash play at Virgin Games when buying bingo cards and wagering on Keno, £1 Atlantis scratchcard, Hollywood Reels, Old West, Jungle Safari, Gold Rush and Money Hog too. 1 V*Point for every £1 spent. Exchange your V*Ponits for Virgin Air Miles, Virgin Vouchers, Virgin Unite, Virgin Experiences and even cash.
1 V*POINT = 1p bonus
1 V*POINT = 1 Flying Club mile
Wink Bingo Bonus Points Table
Activity Loyalty Points
Refer a friend 15,000 points
5p card purchases 1 point per card
10p card purchases 1 point per card
25p card purchases 2 points per card
50p card purchases 5 points per card
£1 card purchases 10 points per card
1,000 Bonus Points = £1
888 Ladies Bingo Loyalty Points
Activity Loyalty Points
Refer a Friend 5,000 points
5p card purchases 1 point per card
10p card purchases 1 point per card
25p card purchases 2 points per card
50p card purchases 5 points per card
£1 card purchases 10 points per card
Chat Games Between 1,000 to 5,000 points per games
Team Bingo 3,000,000 points given away each month
Loyalty Point Conversion Rate: 1000 Loyalty Points= £1
What are bingo jackpots and pot prizes?
A bingo jackpot is the prize to be won at the end of a bingo game. The amount of prize money is accumulated in the prize pot. Every time a player joins the game and buys a bingo ticket, a contribution is made into the prize pot. The more players join in, the bigger the prize pot gets. By matching the bingo pattern, whoever calls bingo first will win the prize money that’s accumulated in the pot.
What is a guaranteed jackpot bingo game?
Jackpots in standard bingo games rarely reach huge amounts. The amount accumulated in the pot depends on the number of players participating in the game. The more players mean the bigger jackpot. However, the more players also mean the less chances of winning. So to make bingo games more interesting, bingo operators have introduced a “guaranteed jackpot” concept where the pot prize starts from a set amount of money.
The starting amount can be anything depending on the bingo operator and the scale of the bingo promotion. You can find bingo games running throughout the day for guaranteed jackpots starting from as low as £50-£100. There are also special weekly or monthly games where guaranteed jackpot amounts can be as high as £5,000-£10,000. In general, a jackpot is won by the first player who gets full house or coverall.
You can view all guaranteed jackpot games at bingo sites in our live bingo games timetable updated in real time.
What is a progressive jackpot game?
Progressive jackpots are a fantastic way to win huge amounts of money. Progressive jackpot prizes start at a certain amount and continue to increase with every online bingo game played at the bingo site until the jackpot is won by one of the players. The prize pot grows until someone wins and there is no maximum payout which means you could potentially win unlimited amount of money. Progressive jackpot games can be played in both 90-ball and 75-ball bingo games.
To win a progressive jackpot, a certain bingo pattern has to be achieved in a set number of bingo calls. For example, in a 90-ball game, the bingo game may have a starting jackpot of £100 and increase as the game progresses. The winner will have covered their board completely in 38 calls or fewer and will win both the jackpot for their specific game and also the larger one.
You can see a list of progressive jackpot games in our live bingo games timetable.
Progressive jackpot prizes can reach huge amounts especially in slot games. It is not rare that a slots player wins millions of pounds in jackpot prize in a lucky spin at one of the progressive jackpot video slots at one of the bingo sites. You can easily play these video slot machines while you’re still in the middle of a bingo game.
Bingo Odds and Winning Edge
If you’re playing bingo to gamble or to win, then you’re probably in the wrong place. The odds of winning in bingo is only better than the national lottery. You will have a lot bigger advantage in an average casino, playing a standard casino game. Bingo is played for its fun factor, for social interaction, meeting new people, chatting and participating in chat room activities and generally for having a good time, away from the daily stress.
However, having said that, the only way to improve your chances of winning in bingo is probably to buy more bingo tickets. In online bingo, checking numbers, daubing and even claiming bingo is done automatically. Therefore, you don’t need to be stressed about having to listen to the bingo calls carefully or checking your cards all the time. You can buy as many bingo cards as you can afford, then sit back relax and enjoy the friendly conversation.
Another tip that might be useful is to prefer online bingo rooms where there are less people playing. This also means that the prize pot will be smaller but you will have a better chance of winning it. You can find quiet bingo rooms at relatively new bingo sites or during off-peak hours.
Checklist Before You Consider Playing Online Bingo
1. Customer support
2. Bingo game software
3. Currency and languages available
4. Deposit methods available
5. Minimum deposit amount
6. Withdrawal requirements
7. Speed of payments
8. Free bingo bonus amount
9. First deposit bonus amount
10. Bonus amount for deposits after the first
11. Variety of bingo games
12. Bingo ticket prices
13. Quality of chat rooms and chat games
14. Download not required
15. Gambling license and jurisdiction
16. Well-known brand
17. Loyalty program and bingo Promotions
18. Jackpots, guaranteed prize games, progressives
19. Date of establishment
20. Any awards and recognitions
Ready to Play Bingo?
Why not visit our Bingo Directory for a full list of UK online bingo sites or use our Best Bingo Finder to search for the best bingo site for your requirements.
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