Bringing Analysis to the Table in the Face of Bingo Players
4 minutes
Posted by: Ivan
Sometimes, the most unsettling thing that can happen to the finely honed mind of a poker player is a wildcard.
Bingo players, who play their game entirely on luck, represent that – a cat among the pigeons who’ll unsettle and second guess every single play.
With more and more players flooding onto the online card markets, the phenomenon of bingo poker players has become more and more prevalent, according to Reuters.
Understanding the scale of the threat that bingo players pose to the poker table is key to building yourself a strategy for your everyday plays.
Bingo and Poker Influx
Bingo and poker players are connected by their love of casual games – though, obviously, there’s a huge disconnect between what the goals of either game are.
The key distinction is in how the game is played. Poker is an analytical game of skill with elements of luck involved; bingo is a game of luck, pure and simple.
Where the games have gained interest is in the rise of online betting. As Bloomberg notes, the online gambling gold rush continues, and the lockdown has only contributed to it.
Slots, card games, poker, and bingo are the foundation for a wider trend that has seen new billions poured into the industry. This is a sign that the USA has started to truly embrace online gambling and that card games – and games of luck – are here to stay.
Cross-pollination will come in as users of popular websites move between bingo and poker. There’s a lot of intersection between poker and bingo already to make that happen.
Where They Meet
Poker is analytical as a game, but there is an element of luck. Multiple programs and experiments have shown that poker is chiefly a game of careful analytical probing and using the right hands.
One profile by The Guardian highlighted just how true that is. The development of advanced computer programs to match poker players created a monster that is rarely ever beat – even by top-level card players.
That said, there is still an element of luck. A card can come up despite all of the probabilities; a player can, crucially, act in a way that wasn’t expected.
All the research in the work cannot anticipate savants, and that’s where some of the top players have made their money – by doing creative moves that nobody could have expected. This is where online poker crosses with bingo.
Bingo’s Wildcard Nature
Bingo is a game of huge popularity in the UK, USA, and Italy. It occupies a fun space in the gambling and gaming world – that of light-hearted games.
Poker is such a psychologically intense competition that it cannot reasonably be called light-hearted.
Bingo, conversely, is a casual game. According to British paper Wales 24/7, this is precisely why it has reached such a height of popularity – it can be picked up anywhere you have a pen and sheets of paper.
Bingo is chaotic in many ways. With the advent of truly randomly generated scorecards, due to computer technology, there is no way to predict anything in the game – it's entirely random.
That’s what makes it so compelling. No one game is the same, and the thrill of winning is entirely at the hands of the operator.
Where Do Poker and Bingo Intersect?
The principles of bingo have been brought into poker through bingo players. They play any hand they are dealt, regardless of the risks, and are willing to put money on the table even in the worst situations.
Poker, which is as much about mind games as the actual facts of the cards, detests this sort of activity.
How can it be challenged? Recognizing the player preflop is the most important stage, typically, but sometimes players will change their tendencies at the drop of a hat.
This can be a sign that the player in question has a good or bad poker hand – suddenly playing recklessly can betray the cards they have. What if it’s not easily seen, however?
It depends on your game choice. In high-stakes games, it's all about knowing your potential opponents. Scoping out behaviors should be fairly easy – knowing how you would typically face up opponents and what to expect from them is half the battle.
In a word, research. High-stakes platforms are less likely to see these reckless players involved; conversely, low stakes will attract more casual players who are happy to play hard and fast, not afraid to risk the small amount they have in front of them.
Bingo players will be coming into poker more and fulfilling that role of the bingo poker player. Defeating their strategy shouldn’t be too difficult; just remember the fundamentals of what makes you a good poker player.
Research, analysis, and maintaining a good fundamental strategy will help to defeat the wildcards that appear at the table!
