To millions of people, gambling is all about the fun of taking part and the thrill of a potential win. It’s not to be taken seriously and is enjoyed in the knowledge that, over enough time, the house always wins.
There is a growing community, however, who are learning to apply learned strategy to games others perceive as pure chance. Professional gamblers can make a living from gaming, with some turning into a lifestyle by attending tournaments around the world.
So, what is it that allows a person to turn gambling from a fun flutter to a genuine career? The simple answer is science or, more accurately, mathematics, the core principle behind any slots, poker, casino, or bingo strategy.
Changing perspectives
Gambling is one of the oldest social activities of civilisation and its image has altered many times over the centuries. Most recently, over the last fifty years, a revolution in attitudes towards gambling has occurred in many Western societies.
Most forms of gambling were outlawed in many European and American countries until the 1960s. As governments began to increasingly value personal liberties, and see great taxation opportunities, things began to ease.
It took some time for attitudes towards gambling to soften from the antisocial implication’s prohibition had given to it. As time has passed, however, perspectives on most forms of gambling have become more positive in many sections of society.
Bingo particularly has become a fondly recognised pastime and is now seen as an integral part of many Western cultures. Slot machines spent many years as ubiquitous features of pubs in Britain and many other countries.
Most recently, the revolution of online gaming has popularised many forms of gambling by making it more accessible to all. Today, bingo, slots, poker, or casino are seen as just another online entertainment as harmless as Mario or Minecraft.
Luck, or skill?
Since the birth of gambling, thinkers and researchers have debated where luck ends and skill begins. As early as Ancient Rome, Emperor Claudius authored a book claiming to detail techniques for winning at dice games.
Some games are clearly more open to applying skills than others. Poker or sports betting, for instance, require tactical choices or the application of discoverable data by their players.
Success in other games can be more difficult to assign to any factors beyond pure chance. Slots, roulette, or bingo, on the surface, seem to have no user or environmental influence at all.
Probability
The truth is, if you understand the science of probability, anything can be a game of skill. Only flipping a coin or rolling dice can truly be considered chance, and even that relies on a pure environment.
Let’s take bingo, for example, random numbers on balls drawn to be matched with more random numbers on a card. Surely, this could only be a game of luck and not one that can be influenced by science?
Whether played online or in a hall, there are several ways a bingo player can increase the probability of winning. It all comes down to a simple understanding of the laws of probability.
Work out the odds
The most fundamental thing a scientific player needs to do with bingo is to calculate their odds of winning. For bingo, this is simple, divide the number of cards you are playing by the number of cards being played.
In bingo, there is always a winner, so having the highest percentage of cards means the highest chance of winning. If 100 cards are being played, and you have 10, you have a 10 percent chance of winning.
Knowing the odds is the essential first step, but it’s how you use that knowledge that really makes the difference. Turning bingo playing from chance to science means thinking strategically about how to improve your odds.
- Timing is everything
The simplest way to increase your percentage chance of winning is to reduce the number of other people playing. Play during the quietest hours, whether online or at a hall, and every card you buy becomes immediately more valuable.
- The more the merrier
Less total cards is one side of the probability equation, more cards for you is the other. The more cards you buy, the higher your probability of winning, but remember, more cards means more stake to lose.
- Diversify, don’t replicate
While the first two steps are simple and completely within your control, this one can be tougher. The wider variety of numbers spread across your cards, the more chance you have of hearing those numbers called.
If the hall or online game allows, the ideal situation is to select cards holding different numbers to each other. This is not always possible but, where it is, the best tactic is to take advantage of that choice.
- Stay sharp
This might seem obvious, but every number called that you don’t mark is a lost opportunity to win. Sit near a speaker, learn the calls, notice the card layouts, take spare markers, ensure you never miss a call.
These are just a few simple techniques to show how you can immediately improve your odds of winning at bingo. Understanding these basic principles of probability is what puts some players steps ahead of others.
The more complex the game, the more complex the maths, such as with card counting in poker. The basic principles, however, never change, and it’s knowing this that separates the chancers from the professionals.
Is science taking the luck out of gambling? Science will never eradicate luck entirely but, in a game of percentages, it’s always a useful weapon to have.
