How to Play Keno

Among the lottery-style gambling games, Keno is particularly popular. You can easily find it in most casinos – both land-based and online. It originated in China, in the 19th century. Although the game has relatively low odds for players, it keep its fame as a top game in the casinos for a long time.

Keno Advantages

The reason why Keno is such a popular game is that with it you can win a huge jackpot with just a single ticket. In other words, you can win a lot even with a minimal investment. As already mentioned the style of the game is lottery and accordingly the payouts are structured in a similar way.

Another advantage of the Keno game, as well as another reason why it is so popular, is that it does not require any skills or special knowledge to play. Neither the rules nor the strategies are complicated. The game is more about luck, which is a challenge.

The good thing about Keno is that you yourself can choose the type of game you want, you can aim for bigger winnings with a lower chance of winning, or you can choose a smaller set of numbers, reducing the jackpots, but with each round increasing your profits.

The game is also flexible – you can choose between different gameplay options –  Video Keno or Live Keno respectively. This also gives you a chance to choose between fast and slow game speed. The difference between Video Keno and Live Keno is that with the former you can play 16-19 rounds per minute, and with the latter usually one round is played every 5-10 minutes.

How to Play?

In the game of Keno, a set of numbers between 1 and 80 is selected and 20 numbers are drawn at random. Your selected numbers are winning if they match the numbers drawn, and the amount of your winnings is determined by the numbers selected and the number of the right ones among them.

Note that you don’t have to guess all 20 numbers to hit the jackpot. People play between 3 and 9 numbers, and the jackpots are awarded for tickets with 9 or 10 numbers, in which all the numbers match the drawn ones, respectively.

Keno can be played in online casinos

The important thing about online casinos is that they must have a good reputation, and although most are legitimate and honest, you will still come across bad sites. To be sure about your game online, it is good to find a site with reliable licenses from the gaming authorities.

Banking options and customer service are two other aspects to look out for. The best casino is one that offers several options for contacting customer service. Some casinos also have the live chat option.

If you have already established your preferred method of depositing and withdrawing funds in online gambling, then aim to find a site that offers what you expect or the one that comes closest to your needs.

The most important thing with Keno is to check the game’s payout options, as they vary from casino to casino.

Keno Types

As you already know, Keno offers two ways to play – video and live, both of which have their advantages and disadvantages. Keep in mind that what you’re looking for in a game of Keno is more a matter of personal preference.

Video Keno

Video Keno is much faster, as the results are determined by a random number generator rather than the actual drawing of numbered balls from a machine, and it is very similar to playing a slot machine.

Video Keno options are several. Some of them have the option of bonus games. Examples are Cleopatra Keno with a free spin bonus and Caveman Keno offering additional multipliers in its Keno rounds. With Four-Card, you can speed up the pace of the game by playing with four Keno cards at the same time.

A disadvantage of video Keno is that it usually has a lower house edge than live Keno. In video Keno you also tend to lose faster because you play a much larger number of rounds per hour.

Live Keno

This variant of the game can be played both in a land-based and online casino.

Live Keno betting is similar to Bingo betting in rhythm and structure, as before placing your bet, you must select the Keno numbers on the Keno card.

Keep in mind that you can make several different bets on the same Keno card. It is also important to know that in casinos, a new round starts every 10-15 minutes. A big advantage of Live Keno is the possibility of a big jackpot.

However, the reason why Live Keno is intimidating to beginners is because many of them do not know how to place bets or where to actually bet, as there are many variations in the Live Keno game. .

Keno Bet Types

Direct Bets

A straight bet is one with a certain set of numbers, in order to win you have to guess all or some of your chosen numbers, depending on how many you have chosen. It is important to know that this ticket has only one choice of numbers.

Way Bets

Or in the so-called ‘travel ticket’ several different numbers, different groups and different amounts of numbers can be selected. An example is two groups of 4 numbers, which you then combine into one group of 8 numbers. There is no strict rule for the number of selections , which you can do.

Royal Number Bets

The Royal  number bet has only one number, which is added to all other groups of numbers and is played on its own.For example if you have two 3-point bets and choose a royal number, this means that you will then have three separate groups. Your two 3-point bets plus the royal number become bets of 4 points, plus a 1 point bet consisting of just the royal number.

Split Bets

These tickets are basically those with a combination of more than one straight bet and are played and paid out in the same way as when marking an equal bet on two separate tickets. Many people think that it is not logical to play a split ticket because all again, one number cannot be selected twice, so you cannot use the same number for both of your straight bets.

Combined Bets

This is precisely a ticket with a combination of several different types of grouping, as they can be way bets, straight bets or royal bets in one ticket.

Games with progressive jackpot

If you find a progressive win game, you can win lottery-sized jackpots, since the style of Keno is lottery-style after all. Such games are available both in land-based Keno halls and online. Mega 10 Keno is just such a progressive jackpot game. It is played in Nevada and has reached several million dollars, which can be won by picking 10 winning numbers.

Beginners’ Tips

We recommend that you look for tickets with special features, because for example some casinos run promotions on their Keno games, which are usually for certain types of bets or during certain draws. In this case, they offer discounted bets or larger winnings.

Choose a game with bonus features

If, for example, you are playing a video version of Keno, it would be a much better option to look for a game with additional bonuses, because anyway the numbers are drawn randomly and accordingly will not have worse odds than the standard game. However, what matters is whether you get a fair profit, as some of them will offer lower profits, so check!

If in such a case everything is in order, you have the opportunity to get some free bonus spins, wild numbers or other such benefits without any additional costs required. This would therefore make your Keno game much more fun as well.

Look for the best payouts

Because Keno has variable payouts, two games can be radically different even with the same sets of numbers, as is the case with many machines. You may be playing for a much different amount than the person next to you.

However, before you start any Keno game, we advise you to look at the payouts, which is especially true for video Keno, although it is also common in live Keno.

Find a progressive Keno game

You will most likely agree with us that the most fun part of playing Keno is the chance to win the big jackpot. Although the standard winnings can also be big, the progressive jackpot certainly brings higher ones. They usually have the same structure like the non-progressive jackpots, so you don’t lose anything, on the contrary, you increase your chance for the big win.

Different betting schemes and strategies

Unfortunately, in Keno, no strategy can be chosen to increase your chances of winning, as the numbers are drawn randomly and each of them could be chosen in the individual rounds.

It’s all a matter of personal preference. For example, changing the numbers each round or playing the same ones, or grouping all the numbers together. Realistically, none of these strategies would make your chances of winning any higher.