Getting started with Keno

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 27th, 2010

Keno is one of those games that you either love or hate. There are also two versions of it-live and video. The live version tends to be very relaxing, but it's not offered at many casinos. Generally, you'll find a live Keno lounge tucked away in some corner of casinos that have it.

Whether you're playing live or video Keno, the game works the same way. It's actually very simple to play. It works just like the lotto, but with better odds and lower payouts. Be forewarned, the house advantage in Keno is very large. But, it's one of those games where you could turn $1 into thousands of dollars quickly.

The game consists of 80 numbers-numbered 1-80. If you're playing live Keno, the game will use ping-pong type balls, just like lotto. Video Keno uses a RNG (random number generator) to randomly pick numbers.

In each game of Keno, 20 numbers are randomly selected. The numbers are displayed on a Keno board. That board is split into two parts-the top half and bottom half. The top half holds the numbers 1-40 and the bottom half holds the numbers 41-80.

To play a game of Keno, you must "mark" a ticket. You can select 1-20 numbers to play. The more numbers you mark, the higher the payouts, but the lower the probability of you winning. Let's look at an example. Let's say that you mark three numbers. This would be a called a 3-spot.

When the game is running, you "catch" a number if the number picked is one you marked. If you catch all of your numbers, you win the maximum payout for that ticket. For instance, let's say you chose the numbers 1,2 and 3 on your ticket and they all came up, you'd win the maximum payout for a 3-spot.

Each casino is different in their payout and this is an important point to remember. If you are playing online, shop around for the best Keno payouts. Also, you should think about how many numbers you will play most. Some casinos may pay great for 6-spots, but terrible for 3-spots. If you love playing 3-spots, that's not a great place for you. One casino might pay $1,000 for a 6-spot, while another will pay $1500. It really does pay to shop around.

Now, in Keno, you can get paid for hitting some of your numbers. For instance, if you play a 6-spot, the casino will most likely pay a refund if you hit three of your numbers. If you hit four, they'll pay out a little bit, and so on. The exception is almost always a 2-spot. With those, you either hit both numbers or you lose.

If you play live Keno, you can usually put a ticket in for multiple games and go do something else. A lot of people take advantage of this. They'll put a ticket in for multiple games and go play other games while they wait for the outcome.