House Calls…

Anyone who says all a bingo caller does is simply read out the numbers, as the balls pop out of the machine, has clearly never played bingo. The bingo caller is rarely given the same amount of credibility as people running other casino games.

The caller is the MC of the bingo hall. He controls the game, sets the mood, plays up the excitement, adds personality, and brings the fun to the evening.

Many of the better bingo callers will have had backgrounds in acting or drama. Perhaps, they have been a singer or a performer at some time in the past. Maybe the singing career didn’t take off and they have found a new vocation, at the Mecca on a Friday night

A bingo caller must have certain qualities to succeed. It’s important to take you time when calling the numbers. Most bingo rooms will only consider the number in play once it has been called. Just seeing it on the screen is not enough.

Take your cues from the audience. They can help you call at the right speed. Wait until the heads lift and then you know you are ready to call the next number. Go to fast and you will lose them.

If a bingo game is worth a lot of money, it’s important to treat the game with the respect it merits. Many players in the audience will be taking the big game very seriously – it’s important that the caller does the same.

Of course, superstition will always play a big factor in the reaction and rapport the bingo caller has with his audience. If you have consistently won with a particular caller, then it is not unreasonable to assume that you will have something of a favourable relationship with this particular orator.

On the other hand, if the caller in the seat is unfavourable, with regard to the cards in your hand, and consistently leaves you wanting just one number – which you subsequently fail to hear – then you would be forgiven for assembling an effigy of straw and cloth, and piercing it with sharp pins, in a voodoo-style effort to remove that particular caller from the stage.

Superstitions aside, a great bingo caller will have what is known in the world of poker as a ‘read’ on his audience. He will be able to read their mood and call the numbers in a style fitting to the occasion.

Is the audience relaxed? Are the happy? Do they want to hear a few wisecracks? IS the overall mood positive? It’s down to you – the bingo caller – to make that call. Relax and enjoy it and it is likely your audience will follow suit.

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