Casino Captain's Best Bingo Sites

Casino	Review
Bingo Knights	The Captain likes being treated like royalty.  That's the reason I play online bingo at Bingo Knights.  They sure do treat the Captain well.  They give me a 300% bonus fer signin' up - the biggest one on the net!  They also give out tons of freebies every hour! Try the fun chat games and be on the lookout fer the Bingo Junkie awards.  They even give a guaranteed 100% bonus on every single deposit ye make after the first one!  Where are ye going to find that kind of treatment anywhere else? Only at Bingo Knights
Interbingo	Ahhhh, Interbingo. A very friendly environment that draws a big crowd.   The Captain says this is the most authentic Bingo Hall on the Internet today.  Interbingo offers a minimum $1000 progressive jackpot, available on every pattern. When you join the captains favorite bingo hall you will receive a wonderful 100% match bonus on your first deposit!  Not just your first deposit ever, but your first deposit of EVERY MONTH for the rest of your life!  There are many, many other bonuses and promotions to keep ye busy also. Interbingo has one of the friendliest environments around and even have 3 chat masters there.
Golden Palace Bingo	The Captain loves a good time mateys and it just doesn't get more FUN than at Golden Palace Bingo! Golden Palace Bingo offers all me hardies some of the very best Bingo entertainment on the Net.  The Captain loves their loyalty scheme which pays instant comp bonuses for every real dollar wagered!  The Captain knows that Bingo is one of the most enjoyed games in the entire worldI  Golden Palace Bingo adds to the fun with an original twist to this classic game of chance. While ye wait for yer winning numbers to come up, go ahead and enjoy slots, scratch cards and many casino games as well as chat and get to know some new friends.  Ye can do any of these things and even participate in contests to win real money and great prizes!

History

Bingo owes it's roots to the early development of lotteries. I saw early versions in Italy (Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia), France (Le Lotto) and Germany. A while back the game was called Beano until some lass had trouble spittin' out the word and instead shouted out Bingo! The name stuck. Now Beano helps get things un-stuck!

How to Play

To play bingo, you must first purchase a bingo card (or cards). The card consists of five rows and five columns, creating 25 'cells.' The columns are designated by letters (B, I, N, G and O) and each cell has a number in it, except for the middle cell which acts as a 'free space,' which means it is already covered. When the game starts, letter/number combinations are drawn at random. For example, "B-2" or "N-43." When a letter/number combination matches yer card, you have scored a 'hit' or 'match' and can now "cover" or "mark" that cell. The next letter/number combination is drawn and continues in this manner until someone completes a bingo pattern, which is when you cover five cells on yer card in a row. The row may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. See below for Game Variations and Pattern Variations.

There are a total of 75 letter/number combinations available: B 1-15, I 16-30, N 31-45, G 46-60, and O 61-75. Since there are more number combinations per letter (15) than available cells per letter (5), the layout of the various bingo cards vary greatly. In fact, there are a total of 1,474,200 possible unique cards from which to play! For this reason, most people play numerous cards at the same time.

When playing online, yer bingo cards are randomly selected for you. Most sites will give you three or four cards. Other sites may allow you to take more. Every online bingo game has a caller or a display board for the numbers. The game pattern is also displayed. Some games automatically mark the numbers on yer card for you. The game ends when a player scores a "bingo."  If there is more than one winner in a particular game, then the prize is split amongst all the winners.

Playing bingo online is great fun. The best part about online bingo is that there are always people to play with and the chat features at these sites are great. You will get to have conversations with many people as you play and meet many new acquaintances with yer same interests.

Captains Tip: Watch yer P's and Q's when chatting. Proper bingo chat etiquette is important so ye don't get kicked out of the game! Besides, no one likes a foul-mouthed swab. Look out below for some basic chat guidelines and well as some commonly used abbreviations.

Game Variations

Blackout or "Coverall" Bingo: The winner of this game is the first player to cover their entire card. It usually takes anywhere from 50 to 60 of the 75 bingo numbers to be called before a player scores a bingo. However, blackouts in as few as 43 numbers have been recorded.

Bonanza Bingo: A type of progressive coverall bingo. Between 45 and 48 numbers are called prior to the regular bingo session. If there is no winner before the predetermined maximum number of calls, the game becomes progressive, with a higher maximum being set each successive night it is played, until someone hits bingo.

Progressive Jackpot Bingo: A Jackpot is a payout or "pot" that gets larger and larger until it is won. This type of pot builds daily, weekly, or monthly if it is not won in a specific number of calls. If there is no winner after the predetermined number of calls, then often times a consolation prize will be paid out. Different variations of progressive games add dollars or numbers, or both, to the jackpot. There is usually a separate buy-in for Progressive Jackpot games.

Speed Bingo: In this variation, numbers are called very quickly and players can win for matching as few as three numbers.

Texas Blackout Bingo: A "speed" version of blackout/coverall bingo. If the first number called is an even number, then all the even numbers on all yer cards are wild and get covered. If the first number called is an odd number, you cover all yer odd numbers. The game then proceeds until a player covers their entire card.

Pattern Variations

Basic (Common): Five cells covered in a straight line horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Chevron: A "V" shaped pattern.

Double or Triple Bingo: A bingo game that ends once a player scores two (or three) bingos.

Four Corners: Covering all four corners of yer card.

Hardway: A "basic" straight line bingo that does not use the free space.

Postage Stamp: Covering four numbers anywhere on the card to form a 2 x 2 square

Six-pack, Nine-pack: Larger versions of the Postage Stamp. A six-pack covers six numbers to form a 2 x 3 square. A nine-pack covers nine numbers to form a 3 x 3 square.

Terminology

Bingo board:  A display board that tracks/displays all numbers that have been called.

Buy-in: Buying bingo cards; converting cash into bingo cards.

Caller: The person (or machine) who determines and announces the bingo numbers.

Card: Yer playing piece. A card containing 24 numbered spaces and one free space (blank). See picture above.

Chat room: A screen displayed alongside or under yer bingo game that enables you to "chat" (send and receive text messages) with other players.

Consolation prize: The prize offered on some bingo games if there is not a winner in a predetermined number of calls.

Early bird: A bingo game that starts before a regularly scheduled game.

Free space: The middle square of the card. You get it free every game and it counts towards yer winning pattern.

Game board: An electronic display that is attached to the bingo board to show the pattern needed to win that particular game. It looks like a bingo card and shows you what variation of bingo you are playing.

Game room: Some online games divide the players into game rooms.

Jackpot: A big prize usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern within a specified number of calls.

Minimum buy-in: The least amount you must spend to be eligible for prizes.

Money ball: A number drawn before the game that will double a player's winnings if bingo is hit on that number.

Multiple winners: This is when two or more players achieve a "bingo" at the same time. When this happens, the cash prize is divided evenly among them. 

Pattern: The shape you need to cover on yer card in order to win. See Pattern Variations above.

Payout: The percentage of sales paid out by the House. The average payout among all bingo halls is approximately 75 percent. This compares with a payout of approximately 45 percent on state lottery games.

Split pot: The winner splits the sales of the game (the pot) with the bingo hall or House.

Wild number: Usually played on a double bingo that leads into a triple bingo. The first number out of the hopper determines the wild number. For example, if 42 is drawn, all numbers ending in 2 should be marked off.

Wrap-up: The last game of a session.

Chat Etiquette

These guidelines allow for all players to have a most enjoyable time. If ye decide to break these simple guidelines, ye may be banned from the site!  When ye lose at online bingo games it is wise to not get upset and show yer anger to the other players in the chat room. This is common courtesy, matey! 

* Don't write in CAPS unless the chat host requests that you do so.  * When choosing yer username, do it wisely, and in good taste.  * Don't make sexual, ethnic or racial remarks in the chat room.  * Don't impersonate other users of the chat room.  * Don't act disrespectfully towards the chat host or other players.  * Don't file complaints in the chat; e-mail the site's support department.  * Don't promote competing sites in either open or private chats.  * Use only non-offensive language; refrain from being rude to others.

Bingo Lingo

Bingo is such a social event and there is much chat between the players. Here are some abbreviations that are often used while chatting at online bingo halls:

Copyright ©2005 - 2006 casinocaptain.com
All Rights Reserved. The best online casinos. Site Map