Bingo Babe Talk

First, let me set the scene. Picture it. Friday night. The Bingo hall is buzzing with chatter and the clatter of daubers. The next number flashes in the monitor. The Bingo Babe to my left asks her friend sitting across from her, "What was the last number called?" as she shuffles her papers around and roots through her purse looking for a candy bar.

"B-6 I think", her friend answers as she tries to wave down a floor runner* so she could order some coffee, opens a few more pull-tabs*, lights a cigarette, grabs her dauber and looks at me hoping I have the answer.

I nod my head “yes” as I continue daubing and then glance up at the monitor to see the next number coming up. There it was... G-55 ...the number I needed to Bingo. I raise my hand, and when the number is called I yell BINGO! I do my little ‘happy dance chair wiggle’ as I collect my money.

Cursing me under their breath, they ball up their papers and toss them onto the table next to the pile of candy wrappers and empty coffee cups.

These two disorganized and very distracting Babes had the usual statements to make about how some people have all the luck and how they wished they could just win just one game.

This breaks the 5th Rule of the Bingo 10 Commandments: “Thou shall not wish bad luck on thy neighbor”.

OK…now… Bodacious Bingo Babe has very strong opinions about this. You see, I play a lot of Bingo. I play a lot of paper when I play Bingo, and I take my Bingo very seriously.

Yes, yes, I play to have fun with my fellow Bingo Babes and to hear all the latest gossip like everyone else, BUT, I also play to WIN! When I heard the question, “Why does she have all the luck?” It got me to thinkin’ “Is there really a secret to winning Bingo?”

Well first you must accept the fact that Bingo is a game of luck. There is no way to know what the next ball will be. But there are things you can do to make sure you put yourself in the best possible position to win, so when that ball does come up, you are ready.

So here are a few suggestions from this Bodacious Bingo Babe that I hope will help you.

1st and foremost, be organized. Get to your bingo hall with time enough to buy your papers and get them in the order they need to be in. Most Bingo halls give you a printed program of the games they are playing that night. Buy your coffee, get your daubers, snacks, tape etc., out and in order so when you need them, you know where they are.

2. Check all your daubers. (I usually do this at home) Make sure your daubers are not dried out. Wipe around the edges to keep them flowing smoothly. If they are dry, dip the little round sponge part into warm water, and then gently roll the dauber back and forth on an extra sheet of paper. I have seen Babes dip their daubers into their cup of drinking water because the game started and their daubers were dry. Dauber ink is usually non-toxic, but drinking green or blue water is just gross and the over moist dauber sponges then tend to splash ink onto everyone around.

3. Read the program and put your papers in order. (I know I am repeating myself here). Make sure you are familiar with all the games before they start. Mark (daub) anything that needs to be daubed ahead of time (such as the odd/even coverall, wild numbers, extra bonanza’s, etc.)

4. If you are playing a lot of paper, take the time to tape your papers together. There is nothing worse than having someone sitting next to you scrambling to find all their papers, spreading them out, and then trying to catch up with the numbers they missed as their papers shift around.

5. If your hall plays games such as circle 7’s or u-pick-ums, try to think about that the night before. Write down your favorite numbers on a sheet of paper (I use an index card) and keep them in your Bingo bag. This way you just have to refer to the card and it you won’t waste time trying to figure out your numbers at the last minute. AND YES…All lucky Bingo Babes have a BINGO BAG for all their Bingo stuff. That is one of the ways we stay organized. There are many to choose from. I happen to be a BETTY BOOP fan and found a great Bingo bag with matching daubers and even a Betty Boop T-shirt to match at Giftapolis.

6. Make sure, when you pick your seat, you can SEE the monitor and HEAR the caller. There are several ways you can play Bingo.

The 1st is to SEE the number, the 2nd is to HEAR the number and the 3rd is BOTH.

Let me take a moment here to explain…

When the Bingo game begins, the caller will put the 1st ball in the monitor for everyone to see. This gives you the advantage to start daubing before the number is called. The second number will appear in the monitor as the 1st number is being called.

SO…You see the number 1st, then you hear it.

This can sometimes be confusing to new players because they see one number and hear another.
A good strategy is to train yourself to play the monitor*. Staying one ball ahead, gives you the advantage to YELL BINGO before the Babes playing by HEARING the number have the chance to hear it, find it, daub it, and check for a Bingo pattern. This is important, because the faster you can yell BINGO and stop the game, the better your chances are of not having to split* the prize with anyone else.

Impatient Bingo Babes will just put down their daubers when they hear or see someone already has Bingo. Many times they have a Bingo too, but because you were a number ahead, and knew you had the Bingo, you were able to alert the caller* to stop the game. This is always to your advantage.

Also…by playing the monitor, you can train your brain to ‘zone out’ all the other conversation going on around you. We will go into Training Your Brain in another post. This strategy will also enable you to have a few extra seconds to check the game board* in the event you are waiting* or set* for one more ball.

Let’s face it Babes, even the best of us miss a number from time to time. This is why it is so important to continually check the game board to see what numbers have been called and possibly catching a number you missed.

Now that brings us to conversation…When the game begins...Shut Up!! (I was going to be kind and say “be quiet”, but shut up is more to the point.)

Let the latest gossip or story about your children, grandchildren or husband wait until the game is over. All your concentration should be on seeing the number, daubing the number and hearing the number as you check for the pattern you are looking for. Unfocused Bingo Babes do win in spite of themselves.

But, focused Bingo Babes win MORE. That’s how we have managed to perfect our happy dance chair wiggle.

So that was some of my best advice. If you have any other secrets to winning at Bingo, don’t keep them to yourself. Share them here by submitting your suggestion to Contact Me.

* Floor runner... a the person who answers questions, sells extra specials and PAYS you your winnings
* Pull-tabs... extra games you can purchase that you pull the cardboard tab off to reveal a prize * Play the monitor... seeing the number in the monitor before the number is called
* Split... when more than one person wins, the prize is split between the winners
* Set... player needs one more number to win
* Waiting... same as being set, the player needs one more number to win

See more Bingo terms at "Bingo Lingo", Bingo Babe Talk of 4/5/2008.