Bingo Bet

Compared to other gamblers, even the inveterate Bingoist (a term I coined) never loses more than a very moderate amount of money. My survey shows that she spends an average of $4 per session, and since 50% of this is returned in prizes, it costs the inveterate player in the long run only $2 per session. Since she plays 27 to 35 games in the usual 8:30 to 11:00 P.M. session,. a $2 charge for this much entertainment is very small. No other gambling game supplies this much entertainment for so little.

Many Bingoists buy six to ten cards at a time because this increases their chances of winning. It does, but not nearly as much as they think. Here's how it breaks down. Suppose there are 299 players, each with only a single $1 card (the admission card) at a session when you join in. If you buy only the one card, the management has taken in a total of $300. Each player has 1 chance in 300 of winning a prize award in a single game (a probability of .0033). The odds against winning for each player are 299 to l.

Now, suppose you buy three additional cards for $1; you have four cards at a total cost of $2. Each of the other players now has 1 chance in 303 of winning while you have 4 chances in 303. The probability that you will lose with four cards is 299 in 303, and the probability a player with one card will lose is only slightly greater: 302 in 303.

The purchase of the extra cards certainly hasn't increased your winning chances enough to make it worth the extra $1 cost. We must conclude that mathematically the wisest bet at Bingo game is to buy and play only one card.

Since the total prize awards for each game remain the same whether 300 or 500 cards are sold, it is the Bingo operator who really profits when players buy extra cards. If every Bingo player read this proof that playing only one card is the best bet at Bingo, and then did just that, the game would soon become less interesting for another reason. The amounts of the prize awards are based on the expectation that most players will buy extra cards. If they didn't, then the prize awards would have to be reduced.