If you are new to the world of online bingo, your first time exploring a site may be a bit overwhelming and even confusing.  Many of the online bingo sites are quite flashy and crowded on the home page which can make it a tad difficult to figure out where you are and where you need to be.  However, much of the top page will be taken up with promos from the various games available and promotions on offer at the current time.  There are three main areas on an online bingo website that you will need to know to get started.

First is the registration area.  Even most sites that offer no deposit required free bingo will usually ask you to at least register your details with the site.  That can be as simple as just giving them your real name and country, then creating a username and password for the website.  Sometimes when you register, they will need more detail and your credit card or bank information.

The next area that you should know is the online chatting area.  If you go into a bingo room and look around your screen, you should see a text box somewhere.  You should be able to minimize this while you play, if you find it distracting.  Use that to talk to other players within the room or ask questions of the chat moderator.  In some cases, if you are playing free bingo without having to register, the site may not offer the chat feature to free players.

The last area to be concerned about when you are beginning is what you see during an actual game.  You will be able to see your bingo cards, of course, as well as the numbers called box.  Each site may handle this a bit differently so just look around and get a feel for everything before you play your first game.

I thought it was about time for a refresher course for all those who are new to the world of internet bingo and to this blog.  With more and more people coming online every day as well as those first investigating the idea of online bingo, there may be some questions on how everything works.

You needn’t be concerned about having a hard time learning the game of bingo.  It is one of the simplest games in the world to learn, at least for the basic game.  Even the fancier versions are easy to play, you just have to pay a little more attention.

You start with a bingo card, or bingo ticket as they are sometimes called.  On this card will have a grid with numbers within each square.  The number of squares will depend on which form of the game is played.  No matter what the ticket looks like, the goal will be to mark off the numbers as they are called.  When you achieve the pattern needed, you will win bingo and whatever the prize is on offer.

With the online bingo games, it is easier than ever to play multiple cards, too.  In live games, you have to pay close attention to the caller and check every single card.  Online if you want to play a bunch of cards, you can turn on the autodaub feature built in to the software and it will mark off the numbers for you.  Granted, purists will say this takes some of the fun out of the game but it is an easier way to play lots of cards in high stakes games.

One of the best features of online bingo is that there are so many different online bingo sites out there and each offers something a little different from the others.  Even within a single bingo site, you still can find a good variety since they have several different bingo rooms.  Within each room, you can find different styles of games, like 75 ball bingo in one room with 90 ball bingo in the next.  The atmosphere in each room will be unique, as well.  This is partly due to the personality and style of the chat moderator and partly due to the crowd of players that is hanging out in the room.

The first difference you will see as to style of games is whether the one you find is a normal jackpot game or a progressive jackpot game.  With progressive jackpots, the games are linked into a larger network with the pot being added to by hundreds, if not thousands, of other players.  The larger the network, the larger the jackpot potential.

Once you’ve chosen whether to play a normal game or progressive, you will find even more variety amongst the various sites and bingo rooms.  Price of bingo tickets, what bonuses there are, what the prize is and even the chat room games will vary from room to room.  Even how to bingo can change from room to room as in one room you may only have to complete a line while in another you need to complete a specific pattern.

Before settling on a particular bingo site or even a room within a single site, you should compare all the different things to see which one will be the best fit for you.  Take into consideration all the various factors to decide where you will play.

Don’t hesitate to switch rooms, either.  If you play a game in a certain room but then find yourself uncomfortable due to obnoxious roomies or perhaps a too flirtatious room, then find a different place after the game.  Nothing says you need to stay in one room for the whole evening.  Instead, keep trying until you find a room where you can relax and enjoy the games.

Just in case you need a reason to begin playing online bingo, we’ve come up with a few reasons that should convince you.  Even those who play land based bingo will find something to enjoy about online bingo.

Convenience – You don’t have to dress up, put on your makeup or drive over to the bingo hall.  Just turn on the computer and you will be playing online bingo within minutes.  If you want to sit there in your bathrobe and slippers, then you can go ahead and do so.  No one will be the wiser unless you tell them.

Ease of Play – As we mentioned earlier this week, playing bingo at the bingo hall has gotten pretty complicated!  You need to sort your tickets and pay attention so that you know what game you are currently playing.  With online bingo, the software can even daub for you if you have trouble following the game.

Huge Jackpots – In case you haven’t heard, online bingo has some huge jackpots nowadays.  People are winning tens of thousands and even millions of pounds simply by playing online bingo.  Try winning that much in a bingo hall!  Any of us who enjoy the game know that it’s not all about the money, but a big jackpot certainly adds to the excitement and you have better odds with bingo than the lottery to win.

Variety of Games – Online bingo sites not only have many variations on actual bingo games, they almost always have a good variety of side games on the sites.  Between bingo games, you can play the slots, video poker, scratchcards and even table games at some online bingo sites.

Community – Playing online doesn’t take the community spirit out of bingo.  With the chat facilities, you still have the opportunity to talk with your friends and make new ones within the various bingo rooms.  Thanks to the bingo chat rooms, we even have such great games as team bingo these days.

Well, there you go.  If you needed a reason to try playing online bingo, you now have five terrific reasons to choose from.  What else can you do that can give you the chance to win cash for as little as a penny?

Almost all online bingo websites have a free bingo option but it’s usually just a practice type of thing where you can familiarize yourself with the software and how to play the various games but you won’t win any real money.  However, today, there is a virtual explosion of online bingo sites that are offering completely free online bingo games where you can still win a cash prize.

Part of the reason for this is the economy.  With much of the world’s economy tanking, the sites know that fewer people have much in the way of discretionary funds for things like playing online bingo.

Another part of the reason for the increase in free online bingo with real cash jackpots is that there are so many online bingo sites now that there is fierce competition for both new and old customers.

Most of the bingo sites that offer no deposit free bingo will only offer these free games during certain hours or in certain bingo rooms – the rest of the site is pay to play.  The owners know that is highly likely that if you win a small cash prize playing for free, you may turn around and take that prize to purchase tickets in a higher stakes game.  Once you have a taste for that, it is far more likely that you will end up making a deposit from your own funds in order to continue.

Of course, just because the sites want you to end up depositing, does not mean that you have to.  You could go around to all of the online bingo sites and just play the free bingo games.  You would still be able to play almost any time of the night or day because there is always some site offering a free bingo game.  You still get the excitement of winning a prize, albeit smaller than the cash games.

These days, even the competition for free bingo is getting fierce so you can find sites that offer better and larger cash prizes in their free bingo play.  We’ve recently seen jackpots as large as fifty or a hundred pounds with no deposit needed.  Sure, it’s not a life changing amount but it certainly would come in handy to pay a bill or two, or for a couple to have an evening out.

The basic game of bingo is the same no matter which online bingo site you use or what software platform it is on.  Therefore, much of the time, our decision on whether to join or play at a particular site will rest on the strength of the bonuses the site has to offer.  The tricky part is that the terms and conditions of any type of bonus can vary from site to site so it can be difficult to evenly compare them.

There are several types of bonuses that are commonly given.  One is the welcome bonus, given just for registering with a site.  This can vary from as little as a pound to twenty or even thirty pounds just for signing up.  On occasion the site will let you use the welcome bonus just as if you had deposited cash and therefore you will be able to withdraw any winnings you might get.  However, most of the sites will have some sort of wagering requirement in place, instead.  Usually this is a certain number of times that you must wager the amount of the welcome bonus before it is released as cash.  Most people will not have any actual winnings once they’ve wagered enough times.

Another common bonus is the first deposit bonus.  That is when the online bingo site rewards you with an amount, generally a percentage of your initial deposit.  That amount is added to your account and you can use this to play bingo or side games.  Most of the time, this initial deposit bonus is also subject to the aforementioned wagering requirements and some of the time, it can never be withdrawn.

Reload bonuses are given at some online bingo sites.  This is a bonus on further deposits that you make after your initial deposit,  The reload bonus is often a percentage of the deposit but most often less than the first deposit bonus.  Some sites will give this for a certain number of reloads but some sites offer it as an ongoing incentive for every reload you make as long as you are an active player.  Again, these bonuses are often subject to the same wagering requirements as other bonuses.

We’re not sure why bingo has such an air of community and friendship but it certainly does.  When bingo was mainly offline or in communities that still have a bingo hall, there is something about the game that makes players very dedicated.  For some, it is their only form of regular entertainment and they go faithfully every week to play bingo.  For others, it is where they can socialize with their friends.  Many worried that this community spirit would be lost in the transition to the online arena but that doesn’t appear to be happening.

Online bingo has inspired the same community and friendly spirit that it has in the bingo halls.  People still meet their friends at an online bingo site in a certain room at a certain time each week.  Players are still making new friends within the bingo community thanks to the chat facilities within the bingo rooms.  In fact, online there are more ways to build community than ever before.

Do a search online for “bingo” or “online bingo” and you will not only find sites to play bingo, but also a huge number of personal blogs that talk about bingo and forums dedicated to the game.  Forums are discussion boards where you can find topics like which is the best bingo site to telling everyone about your weekly wins.  The community is certainly not lost due to being in virtual reality – if anything, the community has grown and thrived.

I haven’t gone to a live bingo hall in about thirty years but yesterday was my friend’s birthday and she wanted to go play bingo so that’s what we did.  Boy, have things changed in thirty years!  We found ourselves a tad lost and a lot confused when we first got to the hall but thanks to several very friendly regular bingo players, we ended up having a lot of fun.

At the hall we attended, there were four different places to buy various bingo tickets so that’s where we started getting a bit confused.  One window offered the regular game packs with stacks of paper cards.  Another spot had a table set up where you could buy additional packages for specific games.  Yet another spot was where you could buy the various pulltab games and the final table was where you bought in for the final game of the evening.

We ended up with stacks of paper tickets and were given a paper that listed all the games in order that they would be played.  Now we had to put all of our tickets in the correct order.  We spent several minutes taping our sheets together whenever there were multiples and a very nice elderly gentleman (who kept winking at me) helped us sort out the correct order.

There were many more games than I remember playing live, with patterns that I wasn’t familiar with.  Now I know what small round robin is and large round robin, two stamps and nine block.  We also played various pattern games such as the Y, the E and the picnic table.  What is most confusing to someone who is only used to online bingo games is that multiple games are played on the same ticket so it gets harder to pick out the pattern as you go.

Once we got the hang of things, we did have a very good time although we now know why most of the people had seat cushions with them.  We’ve decided to do the same when we go again!  One thing that made is so much fun is that the people were so nice around us.  One older couple at the end of the table kept us in stitches – he would crack jokes and make dry comments about his wife taking his winnings and she would rib him right back.

If you have only done internet bingo, I do recommend that you get out occasionally and go to a live bingo hall.  The people are terrific and it was a most enjoyable outing for us.  I will definitely play online bingo far more than going to a live game but it was a nice change of pace.

Yes, despite all the wonderful people involved in the game of bingo, there are those who can be called nothing less than bullies.  These are the people who are always making rude comments in the chat rooms, then saying they are just joking when called on it.  Bingo bullies are also known to make disparaging remarks when anyone wins but them and then get mad if everyone doesn’t jump up with congratulations when they win.  They have also been known to push the limits of the chat moderators and some will hit other roomies up for loans when they run short.

If you play online bingo long enough, you are bound to see one or two bingo bullies along the way.  Many times, you can just ignore the bad behavior and the chat moderator will deal with it pretty promptly.  However, there are times that the chat moderator may miss it or even be intimidated themselves.  You should develop a few strategies to deal with such bullies without getting upset or stressed out by them.

First of all, remember that people like this exist every where so don’t let it turn you off online bingo altogether.  These types of people are the same as those you see on forums and online message boards that are always talking negative and putting others down.  If you can ignore them, that is the best way to handle things as they seem to grow bolder when you give them the attention they seem to crave.

When the chat moderator seems to not notice or perhaps is being overwhelmed the activities of a bingo bully, it might be best to fire off an email to support so that they can handle the offender.  You may see that person disappear from the site rather quickly once support gets involved.

If you have a bingo bully that is aggravating you, you can always switch bingo rooms.  There is no sense in ruining your evening by dealing with a jerk.  If they are verbally attacking you personally or have asked you for any kind of loan, contact either the chat moderator or support right away so they can take care of the situation.

The familiar and beloved game of bingo has it’s roots back in the 16th century when the French adapted an old Italian lottery style game into one that was more like today’s modern versions.  Centuries after, a sharp toy salesman in America was to see the game and realize the potential.  He further adapted the game and today’s modern bingo game was born.  As time went on and the game traveled to the UK, some further differences were made in both the style of the bingo card and the ways to win and thus we now have the American version 75 ball bingo and the UK version 90 ball bingo.

For many years, bingo in America was mostly to raise money for charities.  It was in the UK that the phenomenon of bingo halls really took off.  The game is still popular in both countries but for various reasons, the land based bingo games are on the wane and the online bingo variations have been taking off like a rocket.

Since first coming online in the mid-1990s, online bingo websites have grown and proliferated.  UK based online bingo sites have particularly thrived, with something like 60 new sites being launched in the past year.  With the newest tax hike on bingo in the UK, combined with the smoking ban, we can expect to see that number hold or even rise in the coming years.

Some of the reason for the increasing popularity of online bingo is that the internet is no longer the new and unfamiliar territory that it was just a few years ago.  Now, it is rare to have a home without an internet connection and rarer still to find one without at least one computer.  People are turning to the internet for their news, their socialization and now their entertainment, as well.

Since the social aspects of bingo have been kept with the online chat rooms available, many people find that they enjoy the game just as much online as they did offline but without some of the drawbacks of offline games.  Now you can play bingo much cheaper, for one thing, and you don’t have to travel anywhere.  You can just fire up the computer in your own living room and be playing bingo within just a few minutes.