Ohio Keno Odds
- A blog ODDS VERSUS ODDS (Mar 08, 2021) With the March Mania Keno event happening, I thought it would be a VERY strong probability that a University from the State of Ohio will How to Get the Most Chances to Win at Keno.
- A keno odds chart will reveal info about all potential outcomes, related to the number of positions (numbers) you’ve played. Here it is a sequential scheme of odds on winning numbers: 1 number = 3.30, 2 numbers = 12, 3 numbers = 42, 4 numbers = 155, 5 numbers = 710; 6 numbers = 3050; 7 numbers = 11100 or 8 numbers = 46000.
Keno statistics shows that often between 5 and 8 numbers from the previous extraction is repeated. The odds for each series of numbers chosen, whether it's putting a single number on the ticket, or several, vary depending on how you place the play: simple or combined. Winning numbers and jackpots can only be verified through our gaming system, accessible at any Ohio Lottery office. Play Responsibly. For help, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline 1-800-589-9966.
On This Page
Introduction
Note: The page addresses the conventional keno game, known as Spot Keno, where the player picks 1 to 20 numbers from 1 to 80 and the game draws 20 balls. There are links to keno variants towards the bottom of the page.
Keno is a simple game of luck, much like most lottery games, where the player chooses numbers and hope as many as possible match those randomly drawn by a hopper or machine. The simple form with no multipliers or extra balls is called Spot Keno and is addressed on this page. See the Internal Links section below for many keno variants.
There are two formats for playing keno: live and video. In live keno, the player uses a crayon and paper to indicate his picks. Every few minutes numbers will be a live draw from a hopper filled with numbered balls. In video keno, the player touches a screen, sometimes using a wand, to pick numbers and the machine does the draw randomly.
Like most games of pure luck, the odds in keno are pretty poor. Keep reading to learn more about the rules and how much you can expect to lose on the game.
Rules
Following are the rules for basic keno:
- The player makes a wager and indicates which numbers he wishes to pick. The picks are made on a slip of paper in live keno and by touching the screen in video keno. The range of numbers the player may pick from is 1 to 80.
- The number of picks the player may make depends on the game itself. Usually the range is 2 to 10 or 1 to 15.
- The game will randomly choose 20 out of 80 balls.
- If the game chooses a number the player chose that is known as a 'catch.' The player is paid according to the number of balls he catchs.
Examples
Following are some common video keno pay tables found mostly on Game Maker machines. The bottom row shows the expected return.
Pay Table 1
| Catch | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 40 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 5 | 400 | 49 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 1,000 | 275 | 40 | 40 | 25 | ||||
| 7 | 2,500 | 500 | 400 | 120 | |||||
| 8 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 500 | ||||||
| 9 | 5,000 | 2,000 | |||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | ||||||||
| Return | 86.08% | 84.66% | 85.97% | 85.79% | 84.96% | 85.33% | 84.57% | 84.25% | 86.43% |
Pay Table 2
| Catch | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 40 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 100 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 5 | 800 | 92 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 1500 | 348 | 112 | 47 | 28 | ||||
| 7 | 7760 | 1500 | 352 | 140 | |||||
| 8 | 8000 | 4700 | 1000 | ||||||
| 9 | 9000 | 4800 | |||||||
| 10 | 10000 | ||||||||
| Return | 84.18% | 83.25% | 86.14% | 85.31% | 85.21% | 85.31% | 84.17% | 84.87% | 86.72% |
| Hit frequency | 6.01% | 15.26% | 25.89% | 9.67% | 16.16% | 23.66% | 10.23% | 15.31% | 6.47% |
Pay Table 3
| Catch | Pick 1 | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | ||
| 4 | 77 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |||
| 5 | 750 | 55 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | 1,600 | 335 | 98 | 40 | 21 | |||||
| 7 | 7,000 | 1,450 | 300 | 142 | ||||||
| 8 | 10,000 | 4,700 | 1,000 | |||||||
| 9 | 9,000 | 4,000 | ||||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | |||||||||
| Return | 75.00% | 90.19% | 87.41% | 87.74% | 88.06% | 88.02% | 87.68% | 89.07% | 87.57% | 88.80% |
Pay Table 4
| Catch | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 85 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 5 | 804 | 68 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 1,500 | 390 | 98 | 44 | 23 | ||||
| 7 | 7,000 | 1,550 | 300 | 132 | |||||
| 8 | 10,000 | 4,700 | 1,000 | ||||||
| 9 | 10,000 | 4,500 | |||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | ||||||||
| Return | 84.18% | 90.19% | 90.19% | 90.33% | 90.76% | 90.85% | 90.67% | 89.93% | 89.79% |
Pay Table 5
| Catch | Pick 1 | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3 | 46 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | ||
| 4 | 91 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |||
| 5 | 810 | 70 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | 1,600 | 400 | 98 | 44 | 24 | |||||
| 7 | 7,000 | 1,652 | 335 | 142 | ||||||
| 8 | 10,000 | 4,700 | 1,000 | |||||||
| 9 | 10,000 | 4,500 | ||||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | |||||||||
| Return | 75.00% | 90.19% | 91.58% | 92.03% | 91.93% | 92.67% | 92.44% | 92.31% | 92.00% | 92.55% |
Pay Table 6
| Catch | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 37 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 64 | 28 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 170 | 62 | 33 | 30 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 6 | 300 | 175 | 70 | 65 | 36 | ||||
| 7 | 325 | 250 | 178 | 115 | |||||
| 8 | 350 | 325 | 225 | ||||||
| 9 | 375 | 300 | |||||||
| 10 | 400 | ||||||||
| Return | 90.19% | 92.96% | 92.77% | 92.72% | 92.66% | 92.64% | 92.62% | 92.66% | 92.69% |
Pay Table 7
| Catch | Pick 1 | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 3 | 48 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | ||
| 4 | 100 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |||
| 5 | 838 | 75 | 22 | 13 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | 1,660 | 422 | 100 | 44 | 24 | |||||
| 7 | 7,000 | 1,670 | 362 | 146 | ||||||
| 8 | 10,000 | 4,700 | 1,000 | |||||||
| 9 | 10,000 | 4,500 | ||||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | |||||||||
| Return | 75.00% | 90.19% | 94.35% | 94.78% | 94.95% | 94.99% | 94.92% | 94.90% | 93.60% | 93.20% |
The following Pay Table 8 I saw on a 25¢ Aristocrat video poker game at Binion's Las Vegas on October 13, 2019.
Ohio Keno Odds
Pay Table 8
| Catch | Pick 2 | Pick 3 | Pick 4 | Pick 5 | Pick 6 | Pick 7 | Pick 8 | Pick 9 | Pick 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 15 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | |
| 4 | 85 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | ||
| 5 | 804 | 68 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 5 | |||
| 6 | 1,500 | 390 | 98 | 44 | 23 | ||||
| 7 | 7,000 | 1,550 | 300 | 135 | |||||
| 8 | 10,000 | 4,800 | 1,000 | ||||||
| 9 | 10,000 | 4,500 | |||||||
| 10 | 10,000 | ||||||||
| Return | 90.19% | 90.19% | 90.19% | 90.33% | 90.76% | 90.85% | 90.67% | 90.26% | 90.28% |
Surveys
In 2001 I did a survey of every live keno casino game in Las Vegas. The returns ranged from 65% to 80%. In other words, the house edge was 20% to 35%, making live keno among the worst bets you can make in Las Vegas.
In 2012 I did a similar survey of live keno in Laughlin, which showed a range of return of 50% to 74%.
In 2008 I did a survey of video keno in San Diego. The returns ranged from 84% to 95%.
In 2017 I redid my Las Vegas video keno survey, which can be found at Wizard of Vegas.
Advice
If you must play keno, the only skill is choosing where to play to play and then how many numbers to choose. It makes no difference which numbers you choose. Contrary to popular myth, legitimate keno games, like those in Las Vegas, are fair and every ball has a 1 in 80 chance of being drawn each game. To determine the odds of any keno game you can use my keno calculator. Just put in the pay table and you will see how much you can expect to get back every bet.
However, I tend to think anybody who would take the trouble to analyze the game is probably not playing it in the first place. The odds in video keno are about as bad as slot machines. If you want to lose a lot less money gambling I would highly recommend converting to video poker. For live keno players, I would suggest converting to bingo.
Practice Game
Get your keno fix right here on my practice game.
Calculators
We have calculators to determine the payback for any pay table for the following keno games:
- Keno.
- Power Keno/Super Keno.
- Cleopatra Keno.
- Caveman Keno.
- Caveman Keno Plus.
- Triple Power Keno.
- Extra Draw.
Scouting Guide
When you're in the casino it would take a long time to put in every pay table through my many calculators above to determine the best game to play. That is why I created two printer-friendly guides you can print out and take with you:
- My Keno Scouting Guide is a short reference to the best available game for any pay table for all the most popular forms of keno. Each game has a table showing the possible pick-10 pay tables available and the best number of picks for that game and its return. See the last page of the guide for a full explanation how to use it.
- My Full Pay Table Report is a longer guide showing every known pay table for all the major keno games and their associated return. For those who want to know the return for any number of picks, not just the best number (which the Keno Scouting Guide provides).
For a printer-friendly document showing keno pay tables and returns for several major keno games please see my Keno Scouting Guide (PDF). Perfect for printing and taking to the casino to find the best game and pay table available.
Popular Keno Variants
- Caveman Keno.
- Triple Trouble Keno.
- Power Keno.
- Super Keno.
- Extra Draw Keno (three extra balls).
- Ultimate X Keno.
- Book of Keno.
- Alien Attack Keno.
- Wolf Run Keno.
Internal Links
- Las Vegas Hilton keno games.
- Atlantic City Tropicana keno.
- Jumbo Keno Progressive/Mega 10 — Progressive keno games found at Station Casinos of Las Vegas.
- Progressive keno games at the Boyd and Station casinos.
- Nevada numbers — a progressive lottery game.
- High/Low/Middle Keno — keno game seen at the Lisboa in Macau.
- Extra Draw Keno (two extra balls).
- Jumbo Keno Progressive — kenogame at the Station Casinos.
- Laughlin keno survey.
- Keno sums — Math behind the sum of all 20 balls drawn
Keno games by U1 Gaming
Following are keno games by U1 Gaming.
External Links
- German translation of this keno page.
Written by:Michael Shackleford
What can You Do to Win More at Keno?
Let’s say it straight away, Keno is, like any lottery, basically a guessing game. Winning keno numbers are selected completely at random. So the bottom line is that no keno strategy is ever going to be really successful at predicting what will come out.
Having said that, there are some things you can do to edge the odds in your favour. In short, our top tips for winning at keno are as follows:
Look for the best payout schedules
Ohio Keno Odds
By analysing the payout table you can find out before you play what the expected payback over time will be. Not a clue how to do that? Well luckily, we’ve done it for you – at least if you want to play online! If you’re playing keno online the pay schedule is determined largely by what type of gaming software the casino runs on. And we’ve worked out the expected payouts on all the main software brands and listed for you which casinos run on each type.
Play the right number of spots
How many keno numbers should you pick? Most keno games allow you to choose 1 to 15 spots (numbers). You might also find special games that allow a lot more numbers to be chosen. The numbers of spots you pick doesn’t affect the cost of your bet.
The more you pick the better your chances that at least some of them will be drawn out. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a better chance of winning because you will need to catch more of them before you win anything.
For instance, if you pick a 6-spot, in most casinos you wouldn’t win anything unless at least 3 of them were drawn. So it’s a balancing act between selecting enough numbers to give you a reasonable chance of catching a few, but not so many that you have to catch lots before you get a payout.
Regular players tend to opt for between 4 and 8 numbers. If you choose less than 4 spots, the payout schedules mean that it isn’t worth it – the payouts are relatively low and the house has too large an advantage.
If you choose more than 9 spots, the odds of all your numbers actually getting picked are so small that it’s hardly worth even trying. In the extreme case, the odds of getting 15 catches out of 15 spots are about 428 BILLION to 1 (pretty much impossible)!
If you play a high number of spots, some casinos pay out if none of them come up, but you’d need to check their schedule to make sure of this. If you’re a Jackpot hunter: On any pay schedule the BIGGEST jackpot is on maximum spots. But sadly, the more spots you pick, the more remote your chances of winning.
Play several ‘ways’
You can increase your chances of some kind of win from the set of numbers you have selected by betting on a variety of ‘ways’. If, for instance, you have selected 8 numbers as an 8-spot, you could at the same time group them as two 4-spots.
You would then have 3 separate wagers on the same set of numbers. If all 8 came up you would collect 3 lots of winnings (But of course if none of them came up you would lose all three stakes!) You should note that these multi-bet options are usually only available in live, offline keno. But we’ve found one site where you can bet several ways on the same keno draw.
Set a good wager level
How much to wager? Well it depends on such factors as what you can afford, how much the casino will allow, the details of the payout schedule.
Choose lucky numbers!
Everyone has their own superstitions and favoured methods of picking numbers. How about trying some of these:
- try our picker.
- family birthdays or ages (although this is likely to slant your picks towards
- smaller numbers)
- telephone numbers or street address numbers
- a particular layout of numbers on the card
- a ‘psychic feeling’ – just close your eyes and see what comes to mind
- a ‘quick pick’ where the computer picks your numbers for you at random
Statistically it really shouldn’t make any difference how you pick your keno numbers – but who knows?