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Bingo 150: Bingo Rules |
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Bingo rules may vary slightly from location to location. Before you begin to play you should always make sure to check out the particular bingo rules and payouts for the place where you're playing. This course will cover the standard bingo rules that are usually found whether you're playing in a bingo hall or online. |
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Players begin the game by buying a bingo card or multiple cards. Prices for a card can vary from a few cents to hundreds of dollars. A traditional bingo card is a 5 x 5 grid with the letters B-I-N-G-O across the top of the grid, with each letter corresponding to a column below. The middle square is often a free space. The other 24 squares are filled with numbers. The bingo numbers that are called out are a combination of the top letter and numbers in the column below. If B-9 were called you would look for the number 9 in the first column under the letter B. In American Bingo the numbers are 1-75. In British and Australian Bingo the numbers on the card are 1-90. We'll be discussing the American Bingo card in this course. |
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The 75 numbers are commonly broken down in the following fashion. The B column will contain numbers between 1 and 15. The I column will have numbers between 16 and 30. The numbers 31 through 45 can be found in the N column. The G column will have numbers between 46 and 60 and the O column will have numbers between 61 and 75. This creates thousands of unique bingo card variations. |
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A caller will announce the randomly generated bingo numbers, which players look for on their cards. Players then mark the combinations they find on their cards. Most online games will mark the cards automatically for you. The game is won when a player marks a specified bingo pattern on their card. Common bingo patterns are vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines across the card, made up of five bingo numbers. The free space may be used to complete this pattern. There are many other variations on the standard patterns depending on the bingo rules specified before the game begins. |
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When a player matches the pattern they signify the win by calling out BINGO. At this point the game stops and the numbers are verified for accuracy. The winning card is awarded the prize for the game and a new bingo game begins, usually with new cards. If there happens to be more than one simultaneous winner, then the prize is split equally among the winners. |
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Return to Bingo Courses |
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