Advantage Players and Bingo. Bingo??

Musings on "advantage player" and the oft-given advice of "play the games that you actually enjoy playing".

This thread was prompted by our fearless leader's comment:
"Regarding bingo, that indeed often is an advantage play if you buy the right kind of cards at the right time and place. There is no one strategy that works in every bingo hall, each one has to be analyzed separately. In the case of Station casinos, look for the sessions that have the big guaranteed coverall wins and buy lots of the "countdown cards." If the cash ball for that session gets too high then you should probably skip it, as it will induce a lot more competition. I tend to think that validating and the other side bets are rarely a good value. If I were a low-bankroll advantage player, like $10,000 or less, I would use it to play bingo."

Now you all know that I am quite confused by this "higher math" stuff. Indeed, I really can't even grok the term "higher math" since I just don't understand that when things get beyond 10 and I have to resort to my toes rather than my fingers that is referred to as "higher" math when clearly my toes are lower to the ground than my fingers.

Yet, irrespective of whether we refer to it as higher math or lower math, there is no question that Advantage Play at Bingo doesn't really seem to involve much math at all. The first tenet of advantage play at bingo is to select a strategy from two choices that are available: aim for a large turnout or aim for a small turnout.

A small turnout is usually based on time of day, location and mainly the weather. Now despite what I was constantly told I do indeed have enough brains to come in out of the rain. So if it is raining or rain is forecast to be soon and rather severe, I could determine this without having to count on my fingers much less on my toes! Its the same thing with wind and temperature, its a matter of looking it up and getting one value without having to make any calculations at all. Oh, Heavenly Days. No higher math!! (And no lower math, either).

A large turnout is often dependent upon attractive bonuses or jackpot offerings. Casinos have web sites and Twitter accounts and casinos are very prone to let people know about their specially attractive bonuses, so once again: No math!! And even someone with my impaired math skills can figure out this Big Hand and Little Hand stuff to decide if its 3:00 pm at Arizona Charlies or if it is 3:00 am at Arizona Charlies. It would only take me a few visits at each of those two times to figure out which would tend to be more crowded when most of the customers are retirees who tend to be less often "out and about" at 3:00am than at 3:00pm.

Buying or avoiding a particular type of Bingo card would hardly be too taxing on my math abilities either. So this is my kind of "card counting". You buy the bingo cards that count, you don't try to figure out about Dealer's Up Card particularly when there are no such things as Up cards anywhere in the deck.

So really this stuff about being an Advantage Player is pretty good. I can attain "AP" status for the price of a wig and a fake beard. Wow. Gambling is gonna be fun again!! And cheap!! Halloween ain't too far away and I can roll some little brat who is passed out from a sugar jag and steal his fake beard.

Now as to the question of "play the games that you enjoy":

Sounds like good advice. I do enjoy the fast action at craps, but I usually confine myself to Basic Strategy of line bets, oddbets and occasional Field or Place bets. Looking up all the house edge figures and trying to figure out an average bet size and average house edge is beyond me, but sitting there daubing a bingo card is a task I could eventually learn how to do.

I enjoy MiniBacc and Blackjack as well as Roulette. Should I give all this up for a Bingo Game that I don't enjoy and feel embarrasses me to be seen there?

Bingo has been an advantage play for a long, long time.

Certainly a huge grind.

Quote: JIMMYFOCKER

Bingo has been an advantage play for a long, long time.
Certainly a huge grind.

Yeah, I only recently learned that the Casino's Win Rate for Bingo varied a bit but was often marginally negative for the casino and therefore positive for all those little old gray haired ladies who were deposited there by the retirement home bus early in the morning and picked up by the retirement home bus in the evening. All that free booze and a slight positive expectation to boot.

Do you get comps for being a bingo player? Just curious.

Quote: gambler

Do you get comps for being a bingo player? Just curious.

I believe that the early morning games often involve coffee, tea, pastries and orange juice. Later games undoubtedly involve the usual casino beverages. Since Bingo rooms are usually at the lower-rent casinos, parking is generally not charged. I don't think Bingo players even get the usual one dollar an hour for a poker player. Bingo players have about an hour between sessions and generally play nearby slot machines at which time the bingo-player likely becomes far more valuable to the casino.

Quote: FleaStiff

I believe that the early morning games often involve coffee, tea, pastries and orange juice. Later games undoubtedly involve the usual casino beverages. Since Bingo rooms are usually at the lower-rent casinos, parking is generally not charged. I don't think Bingo players even get the usual one dollar an hour for a poker player. Bingo players have about an hour between sessions and generally play nearby slot machines at which time the bingo-player likely becomes far more valuable to the casino.

So you are unlikely to get free rooms and become RFBed if you play a lot of Bingo?

I wonder why we never hear of positive expectation Professional bingo players. Not glamorous enough? Maybe in a few years we will see high stakes bingo on ESPN!

Quote: gambler

Maybe in a few years we will see high stakes bingo on ESPN!

I would tend to doubt that. Despite being ever so slightly a positive expectation game it is a rather boring game appealing, I think, largely to those who confine themselves to Bingo and simple slot machines. It gives elderly ladies something to do and a chance to all yell an expletive together a few times before they go back to the retirement home for an exotic dessert such as Jello.

I think opportunities might exist only during periods when extremely inclement weather was either forecast or blatantly obvious.

Real gamblers would go stark raving mad if they were forced to endure much bingo.

I think the most significant tidbit is The Wizard's recent statement that for a bank roll below ten grand he would play Bingo.

AP (the broken dream) is incorporated into BINGO? Is that what I understand?

Who needs to pay for entertainment, I read AP threads for a good laugh.

Ken

Quote: mrjjj

AP (the broken dream) is incorporated into BINGO? Is that what I understand?
Who needs to pay for entertainment, I read AP threads for a good laugh.

I think that in certain respects it is a good laugh. Those Gaming Board types classify Bingo as a Table Game and release figures on a licensee's Win Rate each year and guess what? Year after year the win rate for Bingo hovers around the -1.0 percent figure. This means that year after year the figure hovers around the +1.0 figure for the players! So bingo is indeed a very slight "advantage play" though I was surely surprised to hear our Fearless Leader advocate Bingo as a choice for those with a ten K or less bankroll.

The strategy of selecting either very full or very empty rooms does not seem particularly difficult to employ since most players are elderly women less likely to be venturing out during high winds, intense rainstorms or intense heat.

I once got dragged to a Bingo game at an East-coast American Legion Hall. I did not enjoy the experience at all, no matter how cheap the drinks were. It was a bunch of losers drinking on the cheap and losing their money playing a stupid game that was clearly rigged against them.

Quote: gambler

I wonder why we never hear of positive expectation Professional bingo players. Not glamorous enough?

Because it's so stupefying. Ever hear of professional Big Six players?

Quote: SanchoPanza

Because it's so stupefying. Ever hear of professional Big Six players?

Actually, I'm surprised no one ever brings up the possibility of Big Six dealers clocking the wheel when people discuss it with roulette all the time. Although the house edge is higher in Big Six I think it would be much easier to do.

It's a fun game to watch, though. They should call it the Idiot Wheel, and instead of numbers, the spaces in the wheel should be the letters in the word "IDIOT". I would be even money, D 2:1, O 5:1 and T 10:1 or something like that.

Many places force the dealer to spin the wheel in alternating directions so as to keep people from estimating where it will stop. The usual bet made by wheel analysts is on the Joker/Logo bet at 40:1 or 45:1 whenever they are of the opinion that they know which half of the wheel is the more likely result based upon the dealer's reported habits.

Quote: 7outlineaway

Actually, I'm surprised no one ever brings up the possibility of Big Six dealers clocking the wheel when people discuss it with roulette all the time. Although the house edge is higher in Big Six I think it would be much easier to do.

I would think clocking Big Six is even harder.

Have you ever watched the dealer spin that wheel? He generally gives it THREE pushes. That should be more than enough that it's hard even for the dealer to hit a zone he is shooting for, much less a specific number his accomplice is betting on.

And depending on the dealer/casino, he may call "no more bets" before the first push.

And don't forget, unlike roulette where all numbers in a clocked target zone pay 35:1, the big wheel has 1:1 almost every other number, making zone shooting worthless.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

And don't forget, unlike roulette where all numbers in a clocked target zone pay 35:1, the big wheel has 1:1 almost every other number, making zone shooting worthless.

I've given it more thought, and take it back.

If a dealer could hit a small zone around a joker consistantly, he will hit the joker enough for his accomplice to make a profit.

However, I suspect that it wouldn't take long for surveilance to discover a dealer that is doing that.

Every weekday at Ellis Island they offer Advantage Play Bingo at either 9 or 10 am( I forget which)
But you do have to bring your own marker. Absolutely no sharing of markers; that is a solid rule in Ellis Island Bingo.

Over time you can't help but come out ahead.

As for comps. Well, Wild Bill and I go together and make a side bet on who pays for breakfast based on the Bingo results,
so it is accurate to say that one of us is comped breakfast as well each time we play.

Quote: 7outlineaway

Actually, I'm surprised no one ever brings up the possibility of Big Six dealers clocking the wheel when people discuss it with roulette all the time. Although the house edge is higher in Big Six I think it would be much easier to do.

I agree that advantage play does not get the attention it deserves. I've done a little of that. The problem is only the joker and logo bets are clockable. It is a slow game and the volatility is high. Personally, it isn't worth my time, but APs with nothing better to do should consider it, especially in Atlantic City, where the joker and logo pay 45-1.

I looked at the Big 6 and I don't see a way to beat it. Having it come to a complete stop is what makes it so effective and unpredictable.

What is the advantage of playing in a hall with lots of Bingo players vs. less players? The parimutual pool may be larger, but each game has a winner, so it would seem logical that your chances of winning are increased by 1) less competitors; and 2) having more cards than anyone else. I don't see the advantage to participating in any "large" game, as you must beat that many more cards.

This is where the advent of wireless devices (now with color touch screens) have revolutionized the game. Daubers are going the way of the CD, and you will not see them in use within five years. The wireless devices ensure that you will not miss a bingo due to fatigue or slow blotting.... Well, you could miss it if you fall asleep and miss the machine playing "Your in the Money".

I'm not sure but I think the desirability of a large turnout is dependent upon their being some bonus that will be distributed if anyone in the room hits it. So the more players the greater the chance someone will hit it. As I said, I don't play Bingo so this is just memories of prior discussions.

Its like a bonus in a poker room. You play poker and hope the bonus hits that night because everyone gets a piece of the bonus.

I played bingo with my mom, sister, and my sister's boyfriend last night. We agreed to split any winnings. Of course I was the only winner. Splitting $25 is no fun, so we played "slots" (actually bingo disguised as slots) . Got it up to $95 and decided that was good enough. I used to play bingo all the time. It gets boring after a while, but once every few months it's ok.

This has to be an interesting thing to really read and learn about. Having to be a Bingo player with all the skills that you can get is the one thing that you would be able to appreciate very well. I just hoped that things would be good as we can learn up in this one.
____________________________
new online bingo

I have not had my meds yet tonight and you lay this on me? So now the AP (cough) guys have mastered the art of BINGO, thats just great. (lol)

Ken

Quote: mrjjj

I have not had my meds yet tonight and you lay this on me? So now the AP (cough) guys have mastered the art of BINGO, thats just great. (lol)

Ken

What's your problem?

Quote: MarieBicurie

What's your problem?

Just curious, do you have a sister?.....Kyla Shooter. (lol)

Ken

Quote: mrjjj

Just curious, do you have a sister?.....Kyla Shooter. (lol)

Ken

What the hell are you talking about?

Quote: MarieBicurie

What the hell are you talking about?

I'll talk slower....do you have a sister named Kyla Shooter?

Ken

deleted

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

Flag it. Not only does he insult your intelligence, his comments have nothing to do with the post. He claims to profit from roulette with his "method" or system or what other garbage it is but claims that us real AP's dont exist. Ignore anything he says.

"Not only does he insult your intelligence" >>> ?? I asked if she (he) has a sister, the issue is what? If the AP (cough) crew are ALLOWED to claim victory with their style of play, can't I do the same? Same rules for everyone? For crying out loud, now I cant even play BINGO cause the AP (cough) guys are gonna take all the damn wins....THIS ISN'T FAIR !!!!

Ken

Quote: FleaStiff

This thread was prompted by our fearless leader's comment:
"Regarding bingo, that indeed often is an advantage play if you buy the right kind of cards at the right time and place. There is no one strategy that works in every bingo hall, each one has to be analyzed separately. In the case of Station casinos, look for the sessions that have the big guaranteed coverall wins and buy lots of the "countdown cards." If the cash ball for that session gets too high then you should probably skip it, as it will induce a lot more competition. I tend to think that validating and the other side bets are rarely a good value. If I were a low-bankroll advantage player, like $10,000 or less, I would use it to play bingo."

Since Fearless Leader thinks that anyone with a bankroll of less than ten grand should go play Bingo, I started this thread as a humorous commentary on what us poor souls with less than ten grand should be doing.