All You Need To Know About Keno

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Welcome to the Keno FAQ guide! Here, players can get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about this popular online casino game. Despite being similar to a lottery, Keno has been played live and online for years and remains a fan-favorite.

If you have questions that the main keno guide didn’t provide, or if you want to learn more about this game, be sure to read our in-depth Keno FAQ.

What is Keno?

Keno started in China but made its way to the U.S. in the 1800s and has since become a popular casino game. People are drawn to it because you can win a lot from such a small bet.

As we all know, casinos offer players a wide range of games to suit everyone’s preferences and choices. You’ll find card games, ball games, dice games, bingo style games, lottery style games, and video-based games. Online Keno for real money falls under the lottery style game category because players select numbers at random.

These balls range in value from 1 to 80 and correlate to random, or supposed lucky numbers, that players have chosen for themselves or had selected at random when they purchase a game ticket. If you’re lucky enough to match the numbers on your ticket with the numbers that are drawn at random then you could be a winner, with prizes awarded according to how many numbers match up.

As you can see, keno is very similar to a lottery. However, casino drawings happen more frequently, allowing players to play any time of the day. On top of this, individual keno games are available on automated video keno terminals and also via online casinos. In these types of games, the only player competing to win will be the operator of the machine or game in question.

Keno is attractive to casino operators because it is now mostly automatic. You won’t find many casinos with actual ball drawings. This means there is very little overhead for the casino operator and the ability for them to run games much more quickly.

The game is also attractive to players because no skill or strategy is involved at all. Players simply pick some numbers and choose how much they wish to wager, and then wait for the draw to see if they’ve won. Also, you can now use a special quick pick numbers feature so the computer terminal will assign numbers to you at random, making it even easier to play.

How Do I Play Keno?

If you’re seeking one of the simplest games to play in a casino, then you can’t really go past keno. It’s very simple to play and once you’ve received your draw ticket you can sit back and relax while the action unfolds on a screen in front of you.

When you’re playing in a live casino you’ll find keno games on video poker multi-game machines or standalone video keno machines, and also, the main keno game that will be running on TV screens around the casino. For the main game, you simply find a keno card which will be available at many locations around the casino, or in the keno lounge, and select the numbers you wish to choose and the amount you wish to wager.

Then you present the card to the keno desk or give it to a keno runner and pay the total wager amount to receive your ticket. For the main game, many casinos will now also have keno ticket terminals where you can select numbers and make wagers digitally.

In the old days, casinos had employees, called runners, who collected keno cards and returned with your ticket. This is mostly a thing of the past because players don’t seem to be playing keno as much today as they did in the past. And many players who do enjoy the game are playing on the video terminals instead of using the live draws.

If you’re playing online or on a video keno terminal, then the game is much simpler and is run on demand. To play a draw you simply pick numbers off a keno board and select a wager amount.

You then draw immediately and the machine will select winning numbers at random and automatically award you with a win if you’re successful. You’ll of course first need to add credits to the machine either by entering cash or a voucher, or transferring funds to the game from your casino wallet if you’re playing online.

Keno games will display payout and wager information on the games pay table, or via a keno booklet if you’re playing in a live casino. This will give you information on how much you can win compared to how much you wager and also information on winnings in relation to how many numbers you select each draw.

You can also get your numbers via a quick pick which will automatically choose a certain group of numbers at random for you to use in the next draw. This can be done both in real live casinos and online. When you use the quick pick feature you simply click on the number of balls or numbers you want to use and choose a bet amount.

As you can see the game is extremely simple to play and it only gets slightly more complex when you start to play with different bet types and combination tickets. For a comprehensive guide on how to play online Keno, read through our 2023 online Keno guide which outlines everything and all you need to know!

Is There Any Good Keno Strategies to Winning?

What Are Some of the Keno Bets?

When playing keno, you can choose how many numbers you want to select in a draw and how much you want to bet. The betting denominations vary from game to game and are usually lower in video keno and online casino keno. In traditional keno, you have to bet a larger amount and also wait for an allotted amount of time between draws to allow all players to collect winnings from a previous draw and get a new keno ticket, or just the latter if they haven’t been very lucky.

Generally, players choose between 4 and 10 numbers and are paid out according to the initial amount they bet and the percentage of their numbers that they hit. It can get quite complex when it comes to betting in keno and determining what the actual payout will be. In video and online keno, this information is available in the game’s pay table, and in traditional keno, you can find an overview of this in the casino keno pay book.

One of the most popular bets in keno is to play 6. This means you choose 6 numbers to play in a draw. Generally, you’ll win back your initial wager if you hit 3 out of your 6 numbers. If you hit more than 3 then the winnings will go up significantly with the more numbers you hit. When you play 6 you’ll be able to wager $1, $3 or $5, and up from there, depending on the operators bet limits. Each with increasing payouts as you wager more. You can, of course, choose more or fewer numbers and this will directly impact the payout rate, and how many numbers you need to catch in order to win.

After these straight bets, you can do combination bets where you’ll have multiple sets of numbers. These can either can be played concurrently so you get an enhanced payoff, or separately. You’ll also find sectional bets, color based bets, king bets, and much more. As you learn keno you can slowly incorporate different bet types into your game to see what you like.

Keep in mind that making different bet options won’t change the house edge in keno and certainly won’t increase your likelihood of winning. The statistics and mathematics of the game stay the same irrespective of what bet options the player makes. It can add an extra level of excitement to your game, though. By changing things up and choosing different numbers and more or fewer numbers as you move through rounds it can keep things interesting.