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Glossary of Bingo Terms

In order to fully give your best when playing bingo, it is important to know the jargon and abbreviations used in the game. Here is a list of the terms used in the modern day game of bingo both online and in bingo halls.

• Admission Packet - A minimum number of bingo cards that you must purchase as the price of admission. Many bingo halls ask you to purchase an Admission Packet, which usually contains three to six bingo cards for the regular games together with some cards for some special games. Exactly what is part of the Admission Packet varies from bingo hall to bingo hall.
• After Game - A game of bingo which is played after the main stage bingo event.
• Bang on the Drum – Bingo term for number 71.
• Between the Sticks – Bingo term for number 86.
• Bingo Board - A display board In a bingo hall which shows each number as it is drawn. The bingo board is usually electronic, and the number light up.
• Bingo Books/Booklets - A number of different coloured bingo sheets or cards bound together to form a book Each sheet or card relates to one game at a bingo session, and the sheets are usually bound in the order in which they will be used.
• Bingo Card - A card containing 24 numbered spaces and one free space (blank), with which you play Bingo.
• Bingo Marker - A crayon or ink dauber that is used to cover the numbers on a bingo card.
• Blackout - See Full House.
• Brighton Line – Bingo term for number 59.
• Buy-in – This refers to the process of buying either bingo cards or an Admission Packet.
• Caller - An employee of the bingo hall who calls out the bingo numbers as they are drawn.
• Chat Room - A separate screen where you can read and exchange messages with other bingo players.
• Clickety-Click – Bingo term for number 66.
• Consolation Prize - The prize or prizes offered on some special games of bingo if there is no winner by the time a certain amount of numbers have been called.
• Coverall - See Full House.
• (Current MP)'s Den – Bingo term for number 10.
• Dauber – An ink-filled bottle/pen made especially for when playing bingo to mark called numbers.
• Dirty Gertie – Bingo term for number 30.
• Doctor's Orders – Bingo term for number 9.
• Early Bird Game - A bingo game with an earlier start time than usual games at that bingo hall.
• Face - The individual bingo sheet containing 24 numbers plus the free space in the middle.
• Flimsy, Flimsies - Bingo cards printed on thin sheets of paper.
• Four Corners - A pattern where you must cover the corner numbers of the card. If you get those four numbers, you win.
• Free Space - The centre square of the card, which is a kind of “wild card” square. It can be used as a substitute for any number to make a pattern in live bingo games.
• Full House – This is a bingo pattern in which the player needs to cover all numbers on the bingo card. It is also known as Blackout and Coverall in the USA and Canada.
• Game Room - A room within an online bingo site where a bingo game takes place.
• Halfway There – Bingo term for number 45.
• Hard Card - A bingo card printed on heavy cardboard material usually with shutters to cover each number as it is drawn.
• Hard-way Bingo - Bingo where you need to make patterns in a straight line without the use of the free space.
• House - A casino or gambling centre or a gambling hall.
• Jackpot - This is the main prize in a bingo game and is usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern, such as a full house, within a specified number of balls.
• Kelly's Eye – Bingo term for number 1.
• Key of the Door – Bingo term for number 21.
• Legs/Legs Eleven – Bingo term for number 11.
• Lucky for Some – Bingo term for the number 7.
• Man Alive – Bingo term for the number 5.
• Minimum Buy-in - This refers to the minimum amount of money that you must spend in a game of bingo in order to be eligible for prizes.
• Main Stage Bingo - The main bingo game in an event or session, which attracts the most customers.
• Moonlight Bingo – A late-night bingo game usually beginning at around 10:00 p.m.
• Money Ball - This is a number which is drawn before the start of a live bingo game. If a bingo player wins on this number in a later game, their prize money is doubled.
• More Than Eleven – Bingo term for number 37.
• On - A player is said to be ‘On' when one or more bingo cards they are playing needs only one more number for a pattern.
• One Fat Lady – Bingo term for number 8.
• One More Time – Bingo term for number 79.
• One Little Duck – Bingo term for number 2.
• Pick and Mix – Bingo term for number 26.
• Tickety Boo – Bingo term for number 62.
• Three Score and Ten – Bingo term for number 70.
• Top of the Shop – Bingo term for number 90.
• Two Fat Ladies – Bingo term for number 88.
• Two Little Ducks – Bingo term for number 22.
• Unlucky for some – Bingo term for number 13.
• Young and Keen – Bingo term for number 15.

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