Most Popular Keno Numbers

A set of Finnish keno betting slips
  1. In most live casinos the Keno numbers are listed on ping pong-like balls that are placed in a glass case and drawn at random. When you play Keno on the Internet numbers are drawn at random using random number generator software. 20 random numbers, between 1 and 80, are drawn in each drawing.
  2. While keno isn’t as common at online casinos as games like the pokies, blackjack and roulette, most leading online casino do offer at least one or two variations of keno, including live dealer keno, where you can watch numbers bring drawn by real human croupiers in real time using a live video stream.

Keno/kn/ is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game by some state lotteries.

Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some variants draw fewer numbers) are drawn at random, either with a ball machine similar to ones used for lotteries and bingo, or with a random number generator.

The word keno has French or Latin roots (Fr. Quine 'five winning numbers', L. Quini 'five each'), but by all accounts the game originated in China.Legend has it that the invention of the game saved an ancient city in time of war, and its widespread popularity helped raise funds to build the Great Wall of China. Club Keno vs Keno. Interestingly, the Michigan Lottery offers a similar game that's simply called Keno. It's actually more similar to traditional lottery games, wherein players must pick 10 numbers from 1 to 80, and match them all to snatch the top prize of $250,000. Most keno variations let you pick anywhere between 1 and 15 numbers. Aside from numbers, there may also be minimum betting amounts, depending on the casino.

Each casino sets its own series of payouts, called 'paytables'. The player is paid based on how many numbers were chosen (either player selection, or the terminal picking the numbers), the number of matches out of those chosen, and the wager.

There are a wide variety of keno paytables depending on the casino, usually with a larger 'house edge' than other games offered by that casino. The house edge ranges from less than 4 percent[1] to over 35 percent.[2] The typical house edge for non-slot casino games is under 5 percent.[3]

History[edit]

The word keno has French or Latin roots (Fr. quine 'five winning numbers', L. quini 'five each'), but by all accounts the game originated in China. Legend has it that the invention of the game saved an ancient city in time of war, and its widespread popularity helped raise funds to build the Great Wall of China. In modern China, the idea of using lotteries to fund a public institution was not accepted before the late 19th century.[4]

Chinese lotteries are not documented before 1847 when the Portuguese government of Macau decided to grant a license to lottery operators. According to some, results of keno games in great cities were sent to outlying villages and hamlets by carrier pigeons, resulting in its Chinese name 白鸽票 báigē piào, literally 'white dove ticket', pronounced baak-gap-piu in Cantonese (on which the Western spelling 'pak-ah-pu' / 'pakapoo' was based).

The Chinese played the game using sheets printed with Chinese characters, often the first 80 characters of the Thousand Character Classic, from which the winning characters were selected.[5][6] Eventually, Chinese immigrants introduced keno to the US in the 19th century,[7] where the name was Westernized into boc hop bu[6] and puck-apu.[5] By 1866, it had already become a widely popular gambling game in Houston, Texas, under the name keno.[8]

Probabilities[edit]

Keno payouts are based on how many numbers the player chooses and how many of those numbers are 'hit', multiplied by the proportion of the player's original wager to the 'base rate' of the paytable. Typically, the more numbers a player chooses and the more numbers hit, the greater the payout, although some paytables pay for hitting a lesser number of spots. For example, it is not uncommon to see casinos paying $500 or even $1,000 for a 'catch' of 0 out of 20 on a 20 spot ticket with a $5.00 wager. Payouts vary widely by casino. Most casinos allow paytable wagers of 1 through 20 numbers, but some limit the choice to only 1 through 10, 12, and 15 numbers, or 'spots' as the numbers selected are known.[9]

The probability of a player hitting all 20 numbers on a 20 spot ticket is 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,320.[10]

Even though it is virtually impossible to hit all 20 numbers on a 20 spot ticket, the same player would typically also get paid for hitting 'catches' 0, 1, 2, 3, and 7 through 19 out of 20, often with the 17 through 19 catches paying the same amount as the solid 20 hit. Some of the other paying 'catches' on a 20 spot ticket or any other ticket with high 'solid catch' odds are in reality very possible to hit:

HitsProbability
01 in 843.380
11 in 86.446
21 in 20.115
31 in 8.009
41 in 4.877
51 in 4.287
61 in 5.258
71 in 8.826
81 in 20.055
91 in 61.420
101 in 253.801
111 in 1,423.822
121 in 10,968.701
131 in 118,084.920
141 in 1,821,881.628
151 in 41,751,453.986
161 in 1,496,372,110.872
171 in 90,624,035,964.712
181 in 10,512,388,171,906.553
191 in 2,946,096,785,176,811.500
201 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,320.000

Probabilities change significantly based on the number of spots that are picked on each ticket.

References[edit]

  1. ^Online Keno odds
  2. ^Shackleford, Michael. 'Keno - Strategy and Odds by The Wizard of Odds'. Wizard of Odds Consulting, Inc. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  3. ^Casino advantages for various games
  4. ^'Keno History'. kenoonline.org. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  5. ^ abMelanie Yap, Dianne Leong Man. Colour, confusion and concessions, pp.240-241.
  6. ^ ab'Chinese Gambling Games; Mysteries of Fan Tan And Boc Hop Bu. Two Popular Games in the Chinese Quarters of American Cities-- Superstitions of the Players. Boc Hop Bu. Superstitions'(PDF). The New York Times. 5 February 1888.
  7. ^History of Keno. Transl. from German, 2017.
  8. ^'The New York Times'. 29 July 1866.Cite journal requires journal= (help)
  9. ^'Tutorial - How to play Keno'. Gambling Info. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  10. ^Mark Bollman (2014). Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon. CRC Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN9781482208931.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keno&oldid=1005831449'

While it’s not a card game, keno is a fun and exciting game of luck that requires no specific skill to play, making it very appealing to players who enjoy a casual punt without too much risk to their wallets. We explain the basics of keno, including the best live venues and outlets to play keno for real money in Australia, so you can see for yourself why this number game is so wildly popular with Aussie punters.

Best online casinos to play keno

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What exactly is keno?

Keno is a game of luck that follows a similar format to lotto, originating from an ancient Chinese lottery game. It’s a pick-and-match number game that can be played by anyone over the age of 18, and just like lotto, you don’t need to learn any special strategies or be particularly skilful to play. Given its fun and easy nature, it is a much loved game in Australia, found everywhere from the local pub to leading Internet casinos.

Rules of keno

Typically, keno consists of 80 balls that are numbered from one to 80. To play, you select up to 20 numbers which you deem to be lucky (some online games may only allow you to choose up to 15 numbers), with 20 numbers then drawn at random from the pit of 80. The more of your picks you match (which are often referred to as “catches”) the more money you stand to win.

How much you can win at keno varies between each game, with different vendors offering different pay scales. Your potential winnings are also dependent on how many numbers you choose. Given these variables, you’ll need to refer to the game at hand to suss your potential winnings. The individual paytables reflect just how much you can win based on how many of your chosen numbers are picked. For example, if you pick five numbers and three of these are picked, your payout may be 3:3, while hitting five out of those five numbers will give you a payout of 5:50.

Some games of keno also give you the option of enabling bonus bets, like placing an additional wager for the chance to multiply your winnings, or even placing a fun side bet like heads or tails. While keno is certainly designed to be a fun and easy game, don’t let its light-heartedness fool you – there is some seriously big money to be won in this game.

Where to play keno in real life

In Australia, the major keno games are run by the same corporations that run the lotteries, like Tabcorp, Tattersalls and SA Lotteries and as such, you never have to venture far to try your luck at keno. You’ll find keno games on offer in retail outlets like newsagencies and petrol stations, gaming establishments like casinos and TAB venues, plus all kinds of pubs, clubs, RSLs and sporting venues. The sheer availability of keno games around Australia speaks multitudes for its popularity, with new games beginning every couple of minutes.

Most popular keno numbers drawn

When playing keno offline, you mark your selected picks on a paper keno ticket using a pencil (or can select the easy pick option where number are randomly selected on your behalf), and then hand it over to the vendor for processing. The winning numbers are then displayed on a screen and if you catch a win, you can claim your money right there on the spot.

How to play keno online

Playing keno online is a relatively recent innovation and is fast becoming popular with online players. Given its luck-based nature, it’s an easy game for anyone to try for some quick entertainment with the chance to make a profit.

Playing for real money online is incredibly simple. All you need to do is sign up for an account with a reputable Internet casino and make an instant deposit to your account. The best casinos offer plenty of safe payment options for international players, including Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafecard and POLi, with deposits accepted in multiple currencies

If you’re unsure whether you want to risk any of your own money playing keno, this is where the Internet really comes in handy, as online casinos also offer the option of playing for free in practice mode. Free play is a great way to familiarise yourself with the rules of keno and to try out a few games to see if it’s up your alley before committing to a real money wager.

To play, simply load the keno game of your choice directly over your Web browser, with no downloads required. On the board of 80 numbers, click on the numbers you wish to select. The paytable to the side of the board will automatically update based on the amount of numbers you pick, so you can clearly see how much you stand to win. When your numbers have been selected, hit the play button and watch the catches happen before your very eyes. The computer will automatically register your winnings, with all winning money deposited directly to your online casino account.

Best online casinos to play keno

While keno isn’t as common at online casinos as games like the pokies, blackjack and roulette, most leading online casino do offer at least one or two variations of keno, including live dealer keno, where you can watch numbers bring drawn by real human croupiers in real time using a live video stream. When it comes to the top-rated keno sites accepting international players, the leading casinos recommended in our table above get our vote.

You’ll also find a large selection of card games available to play at these casinos, so you can try your luck at keno between hands of blackjack, poker, and many other casino games. New players who register via our page are eligible for some hefty sign-up rewards, just use our links above to claim welcome packages that include matched deposit bonuses when funding your account with real money, and free spins on the pokies.

Is there a recommended keno strategy?

One of the reasons keno is so popular is that the outcome is based entirely on luck, so it’s not intimidating to players like, for example, blackjack, which requires a certain level of skill and strategic play to increase your chances of winning. As a game of chance, there is nothing a player can do to influence the outcome of a keno draw, no matter what some desperate strategists may tell you. However, there are strategies you can employ to enhance your keno experience, for example, choosing lucky numbers that are special to you, and always betting within your means so that keno remains the fun game it was intended to be.

Want to give online keno a go? Visit G’day Casino, one of the most trusted casinos on the Web, which offers computer keno and live dealer keno. New players can claim a 100% matched deposit welcome bonus up to an unlimited amount to kick off your online keno experience.