Keno Lessons

Keno is as easy to learn and play as slots, and in casino gambling, it does not get any easier than that. Begun in China in the 19th century, Keno reached America in the mid-1800s. Today, the game of keno is so big across the country, attracting all ages because of its promise of a huge payout, millions, won on relatively small wagers made.

How to Play Keno

Keno makes use of a keno ticket that contains a grid having numbers 1 through 80. To start playing a game of keno, you first choose the numbers you would like to play. Keno Using a marker—most keno players like to use a crayon, mark with an X as many numbers as you wish to play. Generally speaking, you are allowed to play no less than four numbers and no more than ten on a single ticket. Some casinos will offer you the option to pick as much as 15 or 20 numbers, and even the option to use one entire side of a card.

A convenient way to choose numbers is known as the Quick Pick, in which you have the computer randomly pick numbers on your behalf. Keno players will tend to circle several groups of numbers and play each possible combination of circles on one keno ticket. Note that these techniques do not change the odds because each drawing of balls in keno is totally random, and independent of each other.

As soon as you have filled out a keno ticket, take it to a counter at the casino's keno lounge, along with the amount of money equal to your total keno bets. The keno host will collect the wager, enter your keno picks in the computer, and provide you with a receipt. Not unlike in a lotto game, the keno ticket is a record of the numbers you have played, but it is the receipt that is your proof of actually making the bet. So be sure to secure both your ticket and receipt and do not ever lose them.

Roughly a minute before the numbers are ready to be drawn in the casino, the windows at the keno counter will be closed to new bets. It is your cue that it won't be a long wait until the winning results are out. Once the keno counter windows close, the drawing of numbers begins. A total of 80 pingpong-sized balls, marked with each number from 1 through 80, will be whipped about an air chamber inside a barrel, as you might have also seen done in lotto gambling. Exactly 20 of these pingpong-sized numbered balls will be drawn, or selected, randomly, one ball at a time.

The numbers on the selected 20 keno balls during the draw are the winning numbers for the particular keno round. The winning numbers are displayed on television screens known as keno boards. These boards are scattered throughtout the casino so it should not be difficult at all for you to check your keno ticket against the winning numbers.

If a sufficient count of the numbers on the chosen 20 keno balls matches your keno picks, then your keno ticket wins. The amount of your winnings in a keno game depends on two things: how many of your picks match the selected 20 keno numbers, and the amount per bet offered in a particular casino. If your keno ticket loses, and you wish to play the keno game once more, wait about five minutes for the keno counters to become open to new bets and begin another round of keno.

Keno Betting Tips

From The Wizard of Odds, here are a few points to ponder in terms of computing probabilities in a game of keno. You can use Excel and the like.

The probability of matching x numbers, given that y were chosen, is the number of ways to select x out of y, multiplied by the number of ways to select 20-x out of 80-y, divided by the number of ways to select 20 out of 80.

The number of ways to select x out of y refers to the number of ways, without regard to order, you can select x items out of y to choose from. This function may be represented as combin(y,x).

Generally stated, combin(y,x) is y!/(x!*(y-x)!). For those of you who are unfamiliar with the factorial function: n! is defined as 1*2*3*...*n. For example: 5!=120. Thus, the number of possible five card poker hands would be combin(52,5) = 52!/(47!*5!) = 2,598,960.

Ergo, the overall general formula for the probability of x matches and y marks is: combin(y,x)*combin(80-y,20-x)/combin(80,20).

To test this formula, let us try to find the probability of getting 4 matches given that 7 were chosen.

This would be the combin(7,4) multiplied by combin(73,16) divided by combin(80,20). combin(7,4) = 7!/(4!*3!) = 35. combin(73,16) = 73!/(16!*57!)=5271759063474610. combin(80,20) = 3535316142212170000. Thus, the probability is: (35*5271759063474610)/3535316142212170000 =~ 0.052190967.

To determine the expected return of an overall number of picks: take the dot product of the return and the probability for each number of winning catches. For example: the pick 5 at the Atlantic City Tropicana pays 1 for 3 catches, 10 for 4, and 800 for 5. Thus, the return is: 1*combin(5,3)*combin(75,17)/combin(80,20) + 10*combin(5,4)*combin(75,16)/combin(80,20) + 800*combin(5,5)*combin(75,15)/combin(80,20) = 0.72079818915262.

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Keno Lessons

How to Play Keno

Keno Betting Tips