Bingo


Bingo, like most gambling pursuits, is peppered with folklore and legends of incredible rags to riches wins that have elevated the common man on the street to instant Mink and Manure status overnight. Thing is, these stories are largely true and as was the case recently where a grandmother walked away from her local bingo hall 1.2 M richer players can become very wealthy very quickly on occasion. However, for the most, winnings are a lot more modest and one needs to know how to turn your cash bingo into a cash cow without losing your shirt in the process. As is the case with most wagering pastimes, bingo requires more than a little discipline if one is to stay in the black while consistently bringing home the pork rashers.

The basic rule of budgeting for your bingo play and never exceeding what you can afford will always hold true. And although it may sound like overworked, killjoy old hat and as benign and harmless as bingo may appear on the surface gambling addictions are silent, stealthy stalkers that pop up and blindside their victims on a disturbingly regular basis. This principle is really simple and if adhered to constantly can prevent tears and tragedy later on. Decide on a realistic maximum to play and when you reach that point logout and walk away whether you have just started winning or not. This may sound like real wet blanket material but is nothing when compared to the horror of gambling induced financial ruin. You have to remain the boss when it comes to your play.

The moment the roles are reversed it’s time to hang up your dauber and find some other outlet. When you do play shoot for the big jackpots particularly the progressives. This may sound like a really lame overstatement of the obvious but many players avoid these games as the cards tend to be priced higher. The old saying that “faint heart never won fair maiden” is relevant here. Play the progressives as much as you can as they are where the big moola hides out. Also never let a chance slip by to play any free games that are on offer. Although the prizes tend to be low a zero outlay game’s returns are always that much more profitable. The main thing is to stay focused and in control. As soon as bingo becomes an obsession it becomes a risk not worth entertaining. You will very quickly learn which games are the most profitable and will be able to make cash bingo a regular source of beer money at the very least.

There are probably as many different reasons for playing bingo as there are people playing it. One common factor the draws people to the game though is the same motivation that brings people to wager on things as diverse as cards and horses – money. The thrill of the chase and the challenge of pitting ones wits against lady luck are powerful motivators but playing bingo for cash is what keeps the average player glued to their seat at the end of the day. We all know that tuxedo clad Baccarat and Roulette players in Monte Carlo or steely eyed poker players in Vegas can and do become fabulously wealthy playing the tables. The question is how does humble bingo stack up against its more aristocratic and sophisticated casino cousins in the winnings stake?

One only has to browse one or two popular bingo sites to realise that although bingo may be considered by “serious” gamblers to be no more than an amusing side game, the jackpots and prizes on offer belie this misconception completely. Not only are some of the standard, fixed prizes utterly respectable but one often comes across progressive and promotional jackpots that no self respecting live casino aficionado would pull their nose up at. Let’s face it, £50,000 is big money in any gamblers books and when one looks at the number of online bingo sites that feature one of more jackpots of this value and more then one realises that this is a fairly arbitrary amount when one considers bingo prizes in general. And this is peanuts when you look at some of the progressive jackpot amounts that are won regularly by online and live bingo players.

The biggest single win in a legitimate poker game is reputed to have been well over a $1 M. The biggest ever bingo win went to a 53 year old British grandmother at £1.2 M. You do the math. That is very, very serious money and just goes to show that bingo jackpots give nothing away to the more traditionally lucrative gambling prizes. One needs to remember though that the profitability of any pursuit can never be defined by its peaks but rather by the averages. And in this simple truth lies the real story regarding bingo’s cash spinning abilities. If you consider the average win on any bingo site, at any given time and the frequency that those wins occur than the issue takes on a completely different complexion. The overall average win figures for online bingo over any period are astounding and prove conclusively how profitable the game really is. The bottom line is that there is not just money to be made playing bingo, there is a lot of money to be made. So playing bingo for cash is, indeed, profitable as well as being uncommonly good fun to boot. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.