Bingo in casinos, halls or churches may seem confusing if you are not used to the terms bingo dealers usually use. The numbers have different nicknames and in fact, bingo slang makes the game much more interesting.

Here is a list of most common terms you can hear in a bingo hall:

• Admission packet – the minimum number of cards that you need to get in order to attend the game. It usually contains 3 to 8 cards per game.
• Auto purchase – a software program that automatically buys for you new cards at the beginning of each game when participating in online bingo.
• Basket bingo – variant of bingo where the winners instead of cash get the goods in the basket.
• Bingo board – an electronic board which displays the numbers called. There are bingo boards in online casinos as well.
• Bingo booklet – a booklet of bingo cards in different colors in order they are to be played at a bingo session.
• Bingo card – cardboard divided into 24 numbered squares and 1 free space (five columns and five rows).
• Bingo flyer – thin paper bingo ticket which can be used only for one game.
• Bingo marker – a dauber used to cover the numbers on the card.
• Bingo pattern – the graphic shape that players are to cover in order to win the game such as Four corners, lines, diagonals etc.
• Blackout – a winning scheme in bingo where winners should cover the entire card. It is also called coverall.
• Buy in – this is the amount of money you need to pay in order to participate in the game i.e. the amount for buying an admission packet or bingo cards.
• Cash – in – prize – a variant of bingo where the winner gets a prize in form of a cash, which usually comes from the admission fees.
• Early bird game – a game of regular length or short game before the main game.
• Eyes down – these are the words used by the caller in order to announce that the game is about to start.
• Face – a bingo sheet that contains 24 numbers and a free space in the middle.
• Flimsy – thin sheet of paper on which are printed 2, 4, 6 or 9 card formats.
• Four corners – bingo pattern in which players are to mark all corner numbers on the card in order to win.
• Front of house – the desk closest to the front door.
• Hardway bingo – a variant of bingo without the free space in the middle.
• Lucky jar – a cash in a container won by a player in case he hits bingo on the first number called in a particular bingo session. Money is to be added to the lucky jar every time this number is called until it is won by a player.
• Market bingo – a variant of bingo where winners get vouchers or goods.
• Moonlight bingo – late night bingo game which usually starts at 10 P.M.
• Mushroom – a mushroom shaped display around which 6 to 8 players can play together.
• Nine pack – a winning pattern of nine numbers in a block that are to be covered in order to win (on one card).
• Payout – percentage (it is usually 75 %) of the admission fees paid out by the Bingo Hall.
• Progressive jackpot – A jackpot that every day gets bigger and bigger until it’s won by a player.
• Session – regular bingo games of an entire evening program or daytime program which usually lasts for two and a half – three hours.
• Six pack – a winning pattern of six numbers in a block that are to be covered in order to win (on one card).
• Texas blackout – a variant of bingo where if the first number called is even, players need to mark all their even numbers on their cards since they are considered “wild”. Respectively, if the number called is odd, players need to mark all their odd numbers on their cards. The winner is to cover the entire card in order to hit a bingo.
• RNG – Random number generator – a machine or program that automatically selects random numbers for live as well as for online games.
• Validation – after a player calls bingo the caller or a computer program is to check whether the player has marked the right numbers.
• Wrap up – the last game in a bingo session.