Online Bingo Glossary

Learn some Bingo Jargon

This is your guide to the common bingo jargon and abbreviations used in the modern day game of online bingo. It is essential that new bingo players understand and know all of the bingo terms and definitions in order to function effectively in an online bingo hall.

Admission – to be eligible to participate in a game of bingo or be allowed entry to a bingo hall.
Admission Packet – the minimum number of cards that you must buy as the price of admission. The content of an admission packet varies for different bingo halls.
An Admission packet usually contains 3 to 6 cards per game.
After Game – Term used to describe a game played after a regular session.
At the beginning – bingo jargon for 1.
Auto-purchase – a feature where software automatically purchases cards for you at the start of a new game.
Ball Gate – Part of the ball-dispensing machine, the ball passes this mechanism on its way to the playing area.
Ball Lifter – a mechanism that raises the ball from under the playfield to the "ball shooter" tip.
Ball Runaway – the narrow channel the the ball is shot through to get to the main playing area.
Ball Shooter – the mechanism that launches the ball into the playing field.
Basket Bingo – a game of bingo where "basket prizes" are given.
Bingo Board – an electronic display board that shows each number as it is called.
Bingo Booklets - different colored cards bound together, where one card will be played per game. They are bound in the same order that they will be played.
Bingo card – The card with which the game of bingo is played, it contains 24 numbered spaces and one blank space. The cards are unique.
Bingo Marker – a crayon or marker that is used to cover the numbers on the bingo card.
Blackout – a certain pattern where to whole card must be covered in order to win.
Blower – A device that mixes the bingo balls using forced air and dispenses them to the caller who announces the number.
Breakopen – a multi-ply card that is made completely from paper products and contain perforated tabs.
Bonanza Bingo – a coverall jackpot that is commonly played as the 13th game of the session. Forty-five numbers are drawn before players mark then and sets them aside. To play this game you need to pay an extra fee. The jackpot is determined by the sales for that game.
Buy-in – The process of converting cash into bingo cards. Basically buying an admission packet.
Cage – A manually operated enclosure that is used to mix the bingo balls.
Caller – The person who calls out the numbers as they are being drawn from the machine.
Cash-In-Prize – a game of bingo where the winning prize is a cash payout, usually taken from the money paid in.
Catch-up – a feature of online bingo, that automatically marks your cards for all the called numbers.
Chat Room – a screen or monitor that allows you to read and send messages to other bingo players.
Checker – a bingo staff member who verifies the cards of the winning player.
Consolation Prize – The prize offered if there is no winner after a certain amount of calls.
Dauber – an ink filled pen with a tip made of foam which is used to mark the cards.
A dauber makes a square mark wherever its tip touches.
Dob cards – disposable bingo cards also known as throwaways.
Early bird game – The first game of the game session. Can also be seen as a "warm-up" game.
Face – an individual bingo sheet containing the 24 numbers and a blank space in the middle.
Fingertip Card – a bingo card made from either plastic or metal, where the called numbers can be tracked by closing a shutter.
Flimsy, Flimsies – Bingo cards that is printed on thin paper sheets, Also called "Throwaways".
Floor person – a member of the bingo staff who verifies the cards of the winning person. Aslo called a checker.
Four corners – A pattern where if you cover all the corner numbers of a card you win.
Free space – The middle square of a card, that does not have an assigned number, similar to a Joker or Wild Square.
G.T.I,T.E.D – an electronic dauber system that allows playing of multiple packs simultaneously, they require a rental fee.
Game board – An electronic display board that show the pattern that is needed to win.
Game Room – Online games divide players into different game rooms.
Hard Card – a Bingo card that is printed on cardboard material.
Hardway Bingo – a game of bingo in a straight line usually without the use of a free space.
Inlaid Card – a card that is pre-printed in 4x4 format, and uses black discs to cover the numbers when called out.
Instant Bingo – a breakopen ticket containing the word B I N G O., card faces and numbers.
Jackpot – The big prize awarded for achieving a difficult pattern within a specified number of balls.
Late Bird – a bingo game that is played after the regular session.
Late Night Bingo – a late night bingo session usually after 10:00pm. Also called Moonlight Bingo.
Lucky Jar – a container or jar containing cash, which is won by winning on the lucky number.
Master Board – Mechanism that the operator uses to place each ball after the number callout. Also called a Rack.
Main Stage Bingo – a bingo main event, the event which usually attracts the most customers.
Minimum-Buy-In – The least allowable spending amount to be eligible for winning prizes.
Money Ball – a pre-drawn number that will double a players winnings should that player hit bingo on that particular number.
Moonlight Bingo – a late night session of bingo at around 10:00 pm.
Multiple Winners – To or more player call Bingo at the same time. In this scenario the prize is divide among them.
Mushroom – a set of bingo displays with a mushroom shape. Customers sit arounf the mushroom when they play.
Nicknames – The manner in which the drawn bingo number is announced , usually in a humorous way.
No Number – a variation of bingo in which the numbers are drawn and called until only one game card remains completely unmarked and wins the prize.
On – a player is "on" when one or more of the cards they are playing lacks only one number for a bingo.
On the way – the game played prior to the blackout on the same card.
Pattern – The shape needed to cover on the card. It can be a straight line, vertical, horizontal and diagonal.
Parti - Short for "Participation Bingo", it is a type of slot or cash bingo where the winning prize is cash and depends on the number of players.
Payout – The percentage of the sales paid out by the House. The average payout for bingo halls is 75%.
Postage Stamp Pattern – Matching 4 numbers in the form of a postage stamp in the one of the four corners.
Pre-purchase – a feature where you can order game cards in advance.
Progressive Jackpot – A jackpot that get bigger daily, weekly or monthly until it is won.
Pushout card – a bingo card containing sections that can be pushed out by the player as the numbers are announced.
Quickie – Bingo where the numbers are called as quickly as possible and the cards must be full to win.
Rack - Mechanism that the operator uses to place each ball after the number callout. Also called a Masterboard.
Rainbow pack – a pack of paper that allows bingo players to play for 3 or 4 prizes at once.
Reno Night – an evening of casino games sometimes held in bingo halls, but mainly in restaurants or hotels.
RNG – a random number generator is a machine that automatically picks the numbers for a game.
Serial Number – a number printed by a manufacturer on each set of cards.
Series – Shows the number of unique faces that a set can contain.
Session – an evening of afternoon of bingo consisting of regular games using hard cards. A normal session lasts anywhere between two and a half , and three hours.
Shutter Board – a re-usable plastic board that contains pre-printed numbers.
Six-pack, Nine-Pack – six or nine numbers in a block on a single card.
Sleeper – a bingo player who realizes that an earlier called number made him a winner.
Soft Card – a paper card that is disposable.
Speed Bingo – Bingo played when the numbers are called quickly and you are able to win in as few as three numbers.
Speed Game – a special bingo game sold one card at a time. A coverall that is called very quickly.
Split Pot – a game of bingo in which the winner splits the sales of the game with the bingo hall.
Texas Blackout – a Game of bingo where the first number that is called is either even or odd. If the number is even, then all the even numbers on your card are wild. If the first number is odd, then all the odd numbers can be covered. The game continues as a blackout.
Tickets – Printed pages on which the bingo main event or main stage is played and normally comes in books. The tickets have barcodes that describe the numbers they contain.
Throwaways – Bingo cards printed on thin sheets of paper, also called "Flimsy".
Validation – Making sure that a player is eligible to win addition jackpot amounts.
Wait – One number that a player needs to complete a pattern and win the game.
Wild number – a number that is determined by the first number.
Wrap up – The name given to the last game of the session.