10 Keno Tips You Need to Know

Don’t get stumped at the keno table — read these 10 keno tips first.

Keno is a lottery gambling option with roots that date back to ancient Chinese dynasties. That is so regardless of its French name, which means five of each. Some claim that its predecessor might have even helped the financing of the Great Wall. Even though, in modern China, the utilisation of lotteries to fund public institutions did not get accepted until the 19th Century.

Today, keno is an established game of chance offered by national lotteries, land-based gaming venues, and the best Australian online casino sites. It got popularised in the United States, first in Texas by Chinese immigrants, and then made its way onto the rest of the world.

In Australia online keno ranks as one of the more popular online casino games. But, most Aussies love playing it via the Keno Mega Millions Australian lottery, which has churned out various prizes in the millions. Its top one is a reward of $9.1 million snagged by a Melbourne mum in late November 2020.

Due to this gambling pick continuously making headlines in the country, as nationwide prize pools swell, many newbie Keno enthusiasts are searching Google for answers to the following questions:

• How Can I Get the Most Chances to Win at Keno?
• Can I Use Maths to Predict the Numbers in Keno?
• What Are Common Keno Numbers?
• Does it Matter What Numbers you Pick in Keno?
• What Are Some Strategies for Winning Keno?

The reality is that there is little a gambler can do to improve their chance when playing this game.

However, here are a few bits of advice that inexperienced players should memorise. Like all gaming choices, this one also hides various pitfalls and casino mistakes. Players can easily avoid these if they invest several minutes in attaining some online gaming knowledge. Below, we aim to save you time by providing you with a few nuggets of info for all novel and mid-level keno players.

1. Don’t Chase the Perfect 20

Standard keno games consist of you picking up to twenty numbers from a range of one to eight. Yet, those unfamiliar with this game’s ruleset should know that in keno, payouts get achieved based on a player’s hit rate.

Hence, you will get a better-sized reward by landing ten from a selected ten numbers, then accurately guessing ten numbers from twenty picked. The chances of you hitting twenty numbers out of the selected 20 are 1 in 3,535,316,142,212,173,800.000. Therefore, it is best to stay away from this option altogether. That is so because your chances to win the associated max prize are slim.

2. Not All keno Games Offer the Same Odds

In general, the rules we touched on above remain similar in most keno games. That said, various organisers, operators often implement slight rule tweaks that can affect the game’s associated odds, or they may feature distinct payout tables that vary dramatically. As discussed, the winning probability also gets affected by how many numbers you play.

For example, trying to guess ten out of ten numbers correctly comes with odds of one in 8,911,711, while attempting to predict eight numbers accurately out of eight selected features one in 230,114 odds.

Some keno online and offline variations may offer only a maximum of ten picks. They also may boast a payout table that is not as generous as the ones you may have gotten used to in most nationwide draws.

3. Online Versions Can Feature a Low House Edge

On the World Wide Web, dozens of keno online games exist. These predominantly stick to the traditional 80-ball format, but their max pick range can cap out anywhere from ten to twenty max selections.

Many have a fifteen-pick limit and some novel gameplay modifications. These elements help online options to have a lower house edge than keno choices at brick-and-mortar locales.

In Las Vegas, the house advantage in keno hovers around 20% for the lowest rewards possible. In online versions, such as keno and Monkey keno both by Microgaming, the house edge is 5%, making it clear why digital iterations of this game are preferred by veteran gamblers.

4. There Is Nothing Wrong With Betting on Consecutive Numbers

When it comes to random draws, for some reason, virtually all people believe that the laws of probability are in play and that they help determine what numbers come up. That is what gets referred to as the gambler’s fallacy.

The notion that previous outcomes help dictate future ones is false. Moreover, picking six, twelve, thirty-four, sixty, seventy-two, and eighty on a keno card does give you a better winning shot than choosing one, two, three, four, five, and six.

Fate decides which numbers come up, and no one can affect what balls a machine will force out of a plastic tube or what numbers an RNG algorithm will generate. It is all random, and that is something that every beginner gambler should know when considering playing keno. There are no cold or hot numbers.

5. Progressive Games Are Available

If you are after life-changing wins on your keno gaming adventure, then progressive keno products may be the answer. These are games where a pot grows from all the unsuccessful bets until one player gets super lucky and wins it all.

Multi Progressive keno from Holland Power Gaming is one such option. keno from Matrix Studios is another. Non-progressive jackpot online keno games exist as well, like Jackpot keno from 1×2 Gaming.

It features a house edge of 12.45% and a max payout of $200,000, available only through a wager of $20. As a rule of thumb, prize-wise, keno options at casinos for real money cannot compete with draws organised by state/national lotteries.

6. Pick Between One and Eight Figures

Given that we already explained that the higher number of selections you make, the more dramatic odds you face, and the less you get rewarded for the picks you do get right.

To illustrate this point, we will tell you that getting eight out of eight numbers will win you around $25,000 in most games while hitting eight out of nine will win you $2,500.

Consequently, the most popular keno strategy is to play between four and eight numbers. Eight seems to be the magic figure for most gamblers as it supplies the best odds to rewards ratio.

7. Vary Your Number Picking Method

Here is a bit of gambling guidance about the game of keno that will not improve your winning chances but will boost your entertainment level. You don’t have to play only your lucky numbers. You can use them for a specific number of rounds, then move on to choose random ones, your favourite actors’/singers’ birthdays, and so on.

It is vital that you keep mixing things up, as every new pattern selection can bring a brand new dose of excitement. That is something that most keno online casino reviews fail to mention.

8. Playing Online is More Lucrative

Bonuses set the internet gambling sphere apart from the land-based one. They are its defining benefit, providing sizeable amounts of casino cash for online betting fun. The excellent thing about the best casino bonuses is that its stipulations can usually get met through keno gameplay, and its free-play funds can get used on this game.

So, it just makes a whole lot more sense to play lottery-style gaming picks online, as internet operators let you do some free gambling on their dime. What is there not to love about that?

9. Look For a Game With a Bonus Round

While everyone links bonus rounds with slots, they are also present in many online iterations of keno. Bonus keno distributed by NetEnt is one such title.

Currently, bonus round keno games are somewhat of a rarity, but given the popularity of Slingo, which blends elements from slot gameplay and bingo, expect to see more hit the internet relatively soon.

10. Just Have Fun

The harsh truth is that there is little you can do to gain an advantage on this popular casino game beyond learning the basics of how to play keno. It is not online blackjack for real money or online poker where memorizing strategy charts will help you almost even out the odds. At the end of the day, there are no strategy tips that will increase your chances of winning in keno.

In live draws, the laws of physics unpredictably decide which balls get chosen, and online random number generation software has the final say concerning what figures appear on a virtual board at a safe online casino. All that is left for you to do is select numbers that tickle your fancy in a given moment and hope for the best. First and foremost, aim to have fun when enjoying keno. That is your best bet.