Game and pattern
Odds by call
| After call | Your cards done | Someone has won |
|---|
Worked out from 20,000 simulated games per pattern with random cards and random calls, so figures can move by a fraction of a percent between runs. "Someone has won" treats the other cards as independent, which is close enough for a busy game.
These bingo patterns cover the 75-ball games played in halls and online, plus the one line, two lines and full house of the UK’s 90-ball game. Pick a pattern and the card lights up. Underneath, the free calculator shows how likely a card is to finish it by each call. In a game with 50 cards, someone usually shouts on a single line by call 18.
Bingo patterns to play
- Any line: a row, column or diagonal. 12 ways to win, the quickest game.
- Four corners: just four numbers, but they’re fixed, so it takes longer than you’d think.
- Postage stamp: a 2×2 block in any corner.
- X, plus sign, T, L and H: letter shapes for themed nights.
- Picture frame and small frame: the outside edge (16 numbers) or the ring round the free space (8).
- Diamond and arrow: eight and nine squares.
- Blackout: the whole card.
Choose “My own pattern” and tap squares to make anything you like. The odds update as you go.
How many calls does a pattern take?
One card on its own needs about 42 calls to finish any line. Four corners takes a median of 64, because those four numbers have to come out and nothing else will do. A blackout needs 74 of the 75 balls on a typical card. With more cards in the room, a winner comes much sooner. A 100-card blackout game is usually over by call 64.
In 90-ball bingo, one card finishes a line after about 67 calls. A room with 100 tickets usually has its first line by call 29 and its full house around call 67.
Your chance of winning
Every card has the same chance, so with 1 card out of 50 you’ll win about 2% of games, and 10 cards out of 100 is about 10%. Splits on the same call are shared. More cards means more wins, but you’re buying them, so your cost per win doesn’t change.
Running a game? The bingo caller draws the numbers and the bingo card generator prints the cards.