Despite the fact that Keno has Latin or French roots, apparently the game was originated in China. The Chinese were known to have
played Keno using sheets printed with Chinese characters, from which the winning characters were selected.
Keno is a game that has many variations associated with it, depending on where you play. The most popular version has one or more
people playing against the house. A player picks a set of numbers (usually 1 to 20 different numbers) that they believe will be
drawn from a range of numbers, usually in the 1 to 80 range. After selecting the the required number of numbers, the number of matched
numbers drawn by the house determines whether or not you win, and how much you win. The more of your numbers that match, the more cash
you win. Plain and simple.
Payouts will vary across casinos and online casinos. A typical example payout scheme is as follows:
Let's assume that you pick 5 numbers. In this scenario, you will usually have to hit 3 numbers to be able to
qualify for any cash prize. Assuming that you hit 3 numbers, the odds are typically paid back to you at 3-to-1.
If you were lucky enough to match 4 of 5 numbers, you would typically be paid back at the odds of close to 26-to-1.
If you accomplished the herculean task of matching all 5 numbers, you would typically be paid at odds close to
330-to-1. Keno is popular for this reason - you can win a large amount in one shot, which differs from the
slower bankroll accumulation issues associated with the games of Craps or
Blackjack. If you play a casino Keno game that requires you to choose more
than 5 numbers, you will obviously have to proportionnaly match more numbers before you win any cash prizes.
There are other Keno variations that allow for the choice of combination or "way" tickets. Basically, a "way" ticket permits a
player to group different numbers, where each group has the same number of numbers. This creates more possibilities for winning.
These combination offer no direct advantage to the player, but allows them to play more tickets in a single drawing of numbers. Every
casino has its variations on this theme.
The following table illustrates the odds of getting between 0 and 20 Keno "hits", on a 20 spot ticket, where there are 80 numbers to choose from:
History of Keno
Specific Keno Rules and Keno Strategy
Keno Odds
The following is a picture of a Keno Board.