So you want to see what your odds are for bingo? Perhaps you want to have knowledge about the odds in order to improve your bingo playing and increase your chances of a win? Well you should be aware that calculating bingo odds is not as easy as it is in many other games. However, by doing a little research and having some important knowledge on-board, you will be able to apply some arithmetic strategies to your game in order to improve it and heighten your chances of winning.
Checking bingo odds
Unlike when you bet on a horserace and the odds might be 5 to 1, in which if you bet £1 you would pick up £6 at the bookies, bingo odds are a little more complex. This is due to the fact that your chances of bagging a win will be determined on the number of tickets you’ve bought compared against the total amount that have been bought by everyone playing that particular bingo game. For example, imagine the scenario that you have purchased a total of five tickets at a cost of £1 per ticket. The game has a £30 jackpot. There have been a total of 35 tickets purchased for the game. This will mean the odds you have of winning are 5 in 35. In other words your odds are 7 to 1. This effectively means that if the tickets are relatively pricey and/or the prize is fairly small, the win would be pretty pathetic!
How do you utilise bingo odds for potential gain?
In order to turn bingo odds into a tactical practice you will need to inspect the game’s expected return. Every sensible and astute bingo player should always be aware of their expected return prior to putting money on a game, including when playing bingo. Once you are aware of the expected return you will know how much money you may get back against the money you put on the game. In other words, you will know if it is worth playing the game. Additionally, knowing what your expected return is will mean you are also aware of the amount of house edge the bingo operator has. And the good news is, working out your expected return on a game of bingo is pretty easy and straightforward. Let’s make it easy to work out. If you are buying tickets which cost £1 each, work out what the odds are of having a win and make it into a fraction. If, for example, the odds are 7 to 1, you should then times this fraction by what the total bingo prize money is. If you find yourself in a situation in which there are multiple prizes available for various numbers of lines, simply add them together and work out the sum with the total. Simply divide this total with the amount you have put down, which in this case was £5. The bingo odds for this game would be 30/35. In simpler terms every £1 you have put down on this game, expect to get back 85.7pence. Whether you think that particular game is worth the effort and investment, well that’s up to you to decide but at least you’ll now know the odds!