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Helpful Terms for the Not So Bingo Savvy
Like any other event where people get together and spend time on something they are commonly interested in, bingo has some slang that has crept up through the years. These terms may either be ordinary household terms reinvented with a new definition as it applies to bingo or they could be utterly something completely unique to the game.
Here is a list of the terms you commonly hear in a bingo hall when you have a chance to play in one. One piece of advice is not to get confused by all the terms. A lot of the meaning behind each term discussed below is associated with the nature of the term itself in every day usage.
Admission packet: This term refers to the minimum number of cards you should purchase in order to participate in a bingo session.
Early Bird: This term refers to a short bingo game played before the main game. You can say it is some kind of introductory game before the main event comes in.
Eyes Down: This is usually said by the caller to catch everyone's attention. It is a signal that the game is just about to begin.
Front of the house: This term basically refers to the desk at the front door.
Flyer: This term refers to a bingo ticket that is made of paper. It would usually just have one bingo game on it for you play.
Market bingo: This term refers to a certain kind of bingo game where everyone plays for vouchers or commodities.
Basket bingo: This term refers to a type of bingo game where the players play for commodities placed in a basket in lieu for cash.
Bingo board: This term refers to the huge electronic board you see in front that displays the selected winning numbers. It is interesting that online casinos also have bingo boards in them as well.
Blackout: This term refers to a type of bingo pattern. This is where you must mark the whole card in order to win.
Cash-in-prize: This term refers to a type of bingo game where your prize is paid in cash. The prize money is a percentage of the total buy ins that was collected.
Four Corners: This refers to a pattern where all corners of a card are marked in order to win.
Jackpot: This is the prize money everyone is playing for.
Money Ball: This is a number drawn before any bingo game commences. If a player hits this number during the course of a game that player wins a special prize.
These terms are pretty basic and will help you understand what people mean when they talk about bingo stuff. It's not all that hard since the terms will usually relate to a word's common everyday usage.