Playing Online Bingo

Calling The Shots – Going All Out Bingo

As children, it is inevitable that we will be asked the most fearful of questions: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The average Joe will be able to guess the most common answers – astronaut, racing driver, rock star. Probably amongst the last on the list would be bingo caller or blackjack croupier, the former probably being marginally more popular than an administrator of an online bingo website. However, the life of a bingo caller is more exciting than it may sound.

The bingo caller in the traditional sense is the controller of the game. He – or she – reads out the numbers to the bingo hall as they are brought into the game. Yet the role requires so much more.

A bingo hall can vary in capacity. The smaller halls can admit a few hundred people, but larger halls such as the Metro Centre in Gateshead allow for an incredible 2028. This is a larger audience than many “up-and-coming” bands attract, therefore placing a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the caller.

Responsible for not only the reading out of the numbers, the caller must create the whole atmosphere for the evening. Anyone can read out numbers, but each number has its nickname, and they are as diverse as “Danny La Rue”, “Brighton Line” and Torquay in Devon”. To remember these whilst bringing excitement, mood and personality to each number, as well as ad-libbing and interacting with the audience, takes real skill and personality.

It is therefore no surprise that many bingo callers have backgrounds in performing arts. The stage presence needed to succeed comes naturally to those studying acting or drama, and the improvisation needed to “bounce” off the audience to keep the energy levels up is no mean feat.

This is not to suggest that the caller larks around like a court jester. Often there can be large sums of money at stake, meaning that the judgement factor is huge. In the bingo world, this is labelled as a “read” on the audience, meaning that a caller can read the mood of the audience and adjust his or her tack accordingly. Judge this read wrongly and a caller could find themselves on the wrong side of 2000 people. Judge it rightly and both players and caller have the time of their lives.