It’s the most desirable moment when playing bingo - winning the jackpot by getting a Full House! This is, after all, the greatest pattern you can get on your sheet, where you manage to mark off all the numbers. That said a full house requires different things depending on the version of bingo you’re playing.
Are you going for 75, 80, or the full on 90 ball bingo? Get ready to brush off your bingo knowledge as we tell all about the full house. Best of all, it won’t matter whether you prefer heading to your favourite hall or play bingo online!
What is a Full House in Bingo?
As the name might suggest,a “full house” is the highest score you can get in bingo. It involves marking all the numbers on your sheet, which depending on the variant you are playing can total either 15, 16, or 24 numbers. Of course, just one of a number of bingo winning patterns - after all even forming just one line makes for a win, as does marking off the corners or even managing to form a letter on your sheet.
Getting a full house depends on luck, but you can boost your chances through a mix of strategic play and multiple cards. That is to be expected if you’re aiming for the top prize! So keep on reading to learn how to achieve this top prize, no matter the version of the game is your favourite. However, always keep in mind the house has the edge at all times, no matter the kind of Bingo you’re playing. This means you should never try to recover your losses, as the game’s outcomes is always based wholly on luck.
Full House Pattern in Different Bingo Types
The concept of the Full House pattern remains the same in all variants of bingo - your card has a number of numbers, you’re lucky enough to get to mark all of these off. The amount and pattern of the numbers differs according to the version of bingo you’re playing. We’ll detail this further, but 90-ball bingo involves 15 numbers set across 3 rows, while the 75-ball bingo card holds exactly 24 numbers, for instance!
90-Ball Bingo Full House
In 90-ball the card consists of 3 rows, each with 9 columns, making for 27 spaces. Each row has 5 of these spaces filled with a random number, while 4 are left blank. The result is a sheet with 15 numbers for you to mark as they are drawn.
Cards in 90-ball bingo are sold in sheets of 6, with all numbers from 1-90 appearing once in each sheet. This way you’ll be able to mark all the numbers on your sheet - but the challenge lies in marking all 15 numbers in a single card, which is how you can get a Full House. This will get you the game’s final prize, which is typically a fixed or progressive jackpot.
80-Ball Bingo Full House
Also known as “shutterboard bingo” due to the caller or their assistant placing a “window shutter” over a number when it was called out, 80-ball bingo is played with cards with a 4x4 grid. This holds a total of 16 numbers for you to mark off. Mark all 16 to get this game’s Full House!
80-ball bingo is played with colours as well as numbers. Each set of 20 numbers is divided in a different colour. Thus the numbers 1-20 might be yellow while 20-40 might be blue. This way it’s easier to spot which numbers are being drawn as you play!
75-Ball Bingo Full House
75-ball bingo is known as American or US bingo, and is among the most popular variants. It is indeed played using 75 balls, and involves a card with a 5x5 grid. The middle position of the card is left blank, meaning you need to get a total of 24 numbers for a Full House.
Considering the higher number of numbers to mark off, the stakes are higher if you’re to achieve a Full House 75-ball bingo. In the US a Full House is also known as a “coverall,” and regularly involves big jackpot prizes.
What are the Odds of Getting a Full House in Bingo?
You might be rightly curious about your odds of actually getting a full house. These depend on a number of factors, including the variant you are currently playing (whether it’s 90-, 80-, or 75-ball), the current number of players, and the number of cards in play.
With this in mind, let’s take 90-ball bingo as an example. It’s worth noting that in this variant you’re guaranteed to win a full house… if you happen to be the only player in the room. Thus it stands to reason that the more players there are, the lower your chances. That said, not all players will get just 1 sheet of tickets - some will buy more, further lowering your odds.
It’s been calculated that your odds of winning by full house in a standard match of 90-ball bingo are 1 in 45,795,673,964,460,800! How was this worked out, you’ll ask? That’s actually the number of variations in order one can call out all the 90 numbers making the game!
Full House vs. Other Winning Bingo Patterns
While Full House is the most desirable winning pattern in bingo, it’s not the only one! There are other ways through which you can get a win in bingo. Here are just a few of them:
One-line
This is the standard winning pattern, and the easiest to achieve. In 90-ball bingo this requires you to get all 5 numbers in one of the 3 rows, while in 80- or 75-ball bingo you can form a line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally on your sheet.
Two-line
Understood how a one-line win works? Then a two-line is easy - you get two lines on your sheet! Thus in 90-ball bingo you need to fill a second row of 5 numbers, while in 80- and 75-ball you need to form a second horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line.
Special Patterns
75- and 80-ball bingo allow for special patterns on the sheet. These depend on the version of the game and the room you’re playing in, but some of these special patterns include Four Corners (found in 75-ball bingo and involves marking the 4 numbers in each corner of the sheet), Top, Middle, and Bottom Line (also known as Layer Cake, available in 75-ball bingo) and forming shapes, numbers, or letters on your sheet.
Top Tips for Hitting a Full House in Bingo
While getting a full house requires the balls to land in your favour, you can still boost your chances by following these tips:
- Choose smaller rooms to play in. As seen above, the less players around the greater your chances of getting that elusive full house.
- Try to get your hands on non-duplicate cards.
- Make sure to reuse your cards if your room allows you to do so.
- Learn your game! 90-. 80- and 75-ball bingo each has its own ways to score, and this can be further complicated by rules specific to the room or bingo site you’re playing in.
- Make sure to stay alert while playing so that you don’t miss any numbers!
- Last but not least, remember that bingo should be fun. Stay positive and never chase any losses as you play.
Go for Slingo Bingo and Get That Full House!
The full house is an easy concept to understand - mark all the numbers on your bingo sheet for the greatest prize! However, this is far easier said than done, as it requires knowledge of the game and a good dose of luck on your side. However, it’s not the not only way you can win, so make sure to learn the patterns involved in your choice of bingo as you do! Remember to play responsibly as you do and, as always, have a great time with Slingo!
