The first thing that you need to understand about the odds and probabilities behind online bingo is how they relate to the payout. Well, when you take a look at the game of bingo what you find is that the bingo game will pay out approximately 75% of what it takes in initially. When this is compared to things like blackjack, poker, craps and many other online casino games, it seems like a very high house edge. And make no mistake about it, 25% is most definitely a very high house edge.
However, at the same time, the cost of playing a game of bingo is quite low, so you do have a chance to win something big if you are able to stretch your money out a long way. You are certainly better off playing bingo than you are playing the lottery, as the payout on the lottery is quite frequently less than 50%.
One of the things that you need to ascertain right off the bat if you want to have an accurate sense of your chances is the randomness of the cards. With a number of different card combinations possible, bingo cards are endless in the number of permutations and combinations that they can come up with. If an online casino is able to state quite plainly that they randomize their cards and even explain this process slightly, then you can be sure that your thinking of the odds and probabilities will be accurate. This is a very important thing for you to find out however, so make sure that you take the time to do so.
The main influence on the bingo game at hand is the number of players that are playing in that particular game. Because bingo is a game that is played until someone wins, logically your chances of winning will increase as your total number of cards relative to the total cards in play increases. This means that if you have two cards and are playing against three other players with two cards, your chances are actually better than having three cards and playing against three other players with four cards (1/4 as opposed to 1/5).
On the other hand, the prize of the particular game also influences the odds, much in the same way that pot odds in poker can get people to make substandard calls. Either way, understanding how these odds work and how they fit into the prize structure is essential to understanding your chances in the game.