Online gambling has proven to be very popular amongst both the gambling elite and the masses and hence is proving to be big business for the online casino companies. This big business means that the competition between the casinos is high and they are constantly competing with each other in a bid to win the affection and loyalty of the customer. Choosing the best online casino gambling is important if a player wants to make the most of their gambling experience and the great aspect of gambling online is that one is able to visit a variety of casinos with ease before making a decision as to where one wishes to play.

The abundance of online casinos means that whatever games a player may be wishing to play, their choice will likely be available – not only their choice of game but even the particular version of that game. From “Texas Holdem” poker to “Seven Card Stud” poker to keno to roulette to the slots, the choices can be overwhelming.

To help the player to choose a casino to gamble in, a host of sites have dedicated themselves to providing the player with resources such as articles to read on individual online casinos, as well as the latest odds and bonus offers available. It is worth keeping in mind that these sites may well be receiving a commission from the casinos that they are recommending to people.

One thing that is important for a player when gambling online may be peace of mind. Knowing that one is gambling in a secure environment can influence one’s enjoyment of the experience. There are many potential hazards to online gambling, although a good casino will take steps to help ensure that these are not a concern. The nature of playing games online means that players may be able to collude with each other either via instant messenger or on the phone when playing a game such as poker, for example. However, the online casino should have anti-collusion software that keeps a record of each hand played and is specifically designed to prevent collusion between players. It may also be worth checking out whether the casino is audited by a reputable accounting company such as “Price Waterhouse Coopers” - it all adds to the store for extra peace of mind when gambling online and handing credit card details or dealing with the transfer of funds over the internet.

Many casinos may offer their customers the option of playing the games for free. This means that if a player experiences any of the intimidation or potentially overwhelming atmosphere when gambling in a land based casino, by playing for free online, they are able to gain both the experience and hence the confidence to play with real money when they are ready and possibly avoid what would otherwise be costly mistakes. Practising for free is also a good way to develop a strategy and strategies could potentially raise the odds of the player winning against those of the house. However, no matter how much practise one has, the realities of losing in an online casino are just as real as losing in a land based casino and the dangers are just as prevalent. It is luck or lack thereof that will likely have the final say.

The following bingo game patterns are examples of some of the most popular ones. There are lots of possible bingo game patterns that can be played. There are bingo cards that have the pattern already marked/highlighted, and have three basic designations:

• Static or standard bingo patterns. These bingo patterns cannot be moved or shifted on the Bingo card and are won only when every square of the pattern that is marked/highlighted on the card is covered.
  
• Crazy bingo patterns. These bingo cards allow the pattern to be rotated in 90 degree increments for a winning bingo pattern match (by 90°, 180° or 270°).
  
• Wild bingo patterns. These bingo cards have scattered patterns. The bingo pattern stays in the same place (static) but can be located anywhere on the card.
  

Letter C Letter O Letter Y . Postage stamp Any corner Four corners . Six-pack Anywhere Inside picture frame Mini full house Railroad tracks

Letter E Letter T Straight line across Any line Double stamps Any corners Four corners and stamp. Any corner Nine-pack Anywhere Outside picture frame Picnic table

Letter F Letter U Straight line down Any line Triple stamps Any corners Inside Four corners Inside diamond . Open house Any square Kite Any direction

Letter N Letter X Diagonal Any direction Clover leaf 4 postage stamps Plus sign . Outside diamond . Full house Coverall, Blackout Letter L Any way

Check out this online bingo article on how to play bingo. Playing Bingo (and online bingo) is easy once you know the rules. While bingo hall and online bingo rules do vary slightly in format, the essence of the game remains the same.

There are 75 possible BINGO numbers with each number represented by a colored ball in a large rotating bin. Each ball is painted with a unique BINGO number. An announcer spins the bin, reaches in, selects a ball, and announces it to the room. The players check their cards to see if the called number appears on the card. If it is, they mark it. When a player has a BINGO, he or she calls out BINGO.

The game pauses while the win is verified. If there was a valid win, the game stops and a new game begins. If the card wasn`t a winner, the game proceeds where it left off. Each BINGO game proceeds until someone wins. Every BINGO game has a winning card, so a player`s chances of winning depend on the number of cards in the game and how many cards s/he is playing.

Online bingo games have a caller and/or display board for the bingo numbers. The game pattern is also displayed. Some games automatically mark the numbers on your card for you which allow online bingo players to purchase a larger amount of cards since it is easier to keep track of all the numbers called. When playing online bingo, your bingo cards are randomly selected for you and there are a maximum number of cards you can play during each game. The maximum cards allowed vary on each online bingo site.

Bingo cards are used to play various bingo games, including U.S. style bingo and UK style Housie. Cards are usually made of cardboard or non-reusable paper, but more and more bingo halls are beginning to use computerized cards. Bingo cards are printed in various styles (see below) with randomized bingo numbers. As bingo numbers are called, players either check off the boxes with a pen or marker, or use a bingo daber/dauber to stamp the box.

U.S. bingo cards

U.S. bingo cards are 5x5 squares, with the columns labeled B-I-N-G-O and with spots contains numbers between 1 and 75. The center square typically is a free spot, and often has the word "free" printed on it.

• Column B contains numbers 1-15
• Column I contains numbers 16 - 30
• Column N contains numbers 31 - 45
• Column G contains numbers 46 - 60
• Column O contains numbers 61 - 75
• There are 16,396,380 different combinations of numbers available, so far the most anyone has made is 9000.

UK Bingo Cards

UK Bingo, or Housie, cards are usually called tickets and differ greatly from U.S. Bingo cards. The cards contain three rows and nine columns. Each row contains five numbers and four blank spaces. Each column contains one, two or three numbers.

• Column 1 contains numbers 1 - 9
• Column 2 contains numbers 10 - 19
• Column 3 contains numbers 20 - 29
• Column 4 contains numbers 30 - 39
• Column 5 contains numbers 40 - 49
• Column 6 contains numbers 50 - 59
• Column 7 contains numbers 60 - 69
• Column 8 contains numbers 70 - 79
• Column 9 contains numbers 80 - 90

Other Types of Cards

• Flimsies
• Break Open

Flimsies

Flimsies are a type of bingo cards printed on thin sheets of paper. They are typically printed with three cards on a single sheet, but also come in other formats:

• One card per sheet
• Two cards per sheet
• Four cards per sheet
• Six cards per sheet
• Nine cards per sheet

Flimsies costs $1-$2 per sheet and a win on a flimsy on a "special" game usually pays quite a bit more than a win on a "regular" game.