Machine and Number Games
How to Play Keno
A number draw game carrying the largest house edge in the casino: big payouts, long odds.
Keno is a number draw game played with a ticket. The player marks a set of numbers from a pool of 1 to 80, and the operator then draws twenty numbers. Payouts depend on how many of the marked numbers appear in the draw, with a separate pay table for each quantity of numbers marked.
Keno is worth understanding above all for its house edge. It carries the largest of any casino game, 25% to 29% in a keno lounge, roughly twenty times the edge of baccarat. This guide covers how to fill in a ticket, the odds of each number of catches, and why the large payouts still fall so far short of the true odds.
Keno Tickets and the Ways to Mark Them
A keno ticket shows eighty numbered squares. The player marks their chosen numbers, writes the stake, and hands it to a writer or feeds it into a machine.
- Straight ticket
- The simplest form: one group of numbers at one stake. The number of squares marked sets which pay table applies.
- Way ticket
- Several groups on one ticket played as several tickets at once, with the stake divided across the ways.
- Combination ticket
- A mix of groups of different sizes on a single ticket.
- King ticket
- One number circled on its own that is counted as part of every group on the ticket.
- Multi-race ticket
- A single ticket played across several consecutive draws.
The quantity of numbers marked is called the number of spots. A ticket with ten numbers marked is a 10-spot ticket and uses the 10-spot pay table.
The Odds of a Ten-Number Ticket
The table below gives the chance of catching a given quantity of numbers on a ten-number ticket, from a draw of twenty numbers out of eighty. These figures hold for every operator, because they depend only on the structure of the draw.
| Catches | Probability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 4.58% | Some pay tables pay for this result |
| 1 | 17.96% | Generally unpaid |
| 2 | 29.52% | The most frequent result |
| 3 | 26.74% | Generally unpaid |
| 4 | 14.73% | Where payouts start on many tables |
| 5 | 5.14% | A small payout |
| 6 | 1.15% | A moderate payout |
| 7 | 0.161% | About 1 ticket in 620 |
| 8 | 0.0135% | About 1 ticket in 7,400 |
| 9 | 0.00061% | About 1 ticket in 163,000 |
| 10 | 0.0000112% | About 1 ticket in 8,911,711 |
The most frequent result on a ten-number ticket is two catches, and that result almost never pays. About seventy-nine percent of tickets finish with three catches or fewer.
How a Round of Keno Is Played
A single round of Keno follows the sequence below. The same sequence applies at a physical table and at a live dealer table streamed to a screen.
- Pick up a ticket and the pay tableTickets and pay tables are available at the keno counter or on the machine screen. Pay tables differ between operators and even between machines in one room.
- Mark the chosen numbersMark one to fifteen numbers from the pool of 1 to 80. The quantity marked determines which pay table applies.
- Write the stake and the number of drawsState the stake per draw and, where the ticket covers several draws, how many draws it is entered in.
- Hand in the ticket and take the official copyThe writer exchanges the marked ticket for a stamped official ticket. Only the official ticket is valid for payment.
- The draw is madeTwenty numbers are drawn by air blower or random number generator and shown on screens throughout the room.
- Check the numbers and cash the ticketCompare the ticket against the draw, then cash a winning ticket, which with some operators must be done before the next draw begins.
Why the Keno House Edge Is the Largest
The size of the keno house edge comes from the gap between payouts and odds at the top of the pay table. The chance of catching all ten numbers is one in 8,911,711, while the payout offered is typically twenty-five thousand to one hundred thousand times the stake. Added across every line of the table, that gap produces a house edge of 25% to 29%.
| Game | House edge | Cost per 1,000 units staked |
|---|---|---|
| Lounge keno | 25% to 29% | 250 to 290 |
| Machine keno | 4% to 12% | 40 to 120 |
| Slot machines | 2% to 8% | 20 to 80 |
| European roulette | 2.70% | 27 |
| Baccarat Banker | 1.06% | 10.60 |
How Many Numbers to Mark
Marking more numbers does not lower the house edge, but it does change the spread of results. Tickets with few numbers pay small amounts often; tickets with many numbers pay rarely and heavily.
| Numbers marked | Frequency of payouts | Spread of results |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Often, small payouts | Shallow swings |
| 4 to 6 | Moderate | Moderate swings |
| 7 to 10 | Rare | Dependent on large payouts |
| 11 to 15 | Very rare | Almost all of the return sits on rare results |
Because the pay table for each quantity is drawn up separately, the house edge of a 4-spot and a 10-spot ticket with the same operator is usually similar. The number of spots is a choice about the spread of results, not about the cost of playing.
Chosen Numbers and Draw Histories
Many keno lounges display a board showing which numbers have appeared most and least often in recent draws. Such boards have no predictive value: each draw uses the full pool of eighty numbers once again.
The chance of any number being selected in a draw stays at twenty of eighty, or twenty-five percent, whatever the history. Choosing birthdays, consecutive numbers or cold numbers gives precisely the same odds.
Keno Terminology
The terms below are the ones heard most often at the Keno table. A wider list is available in the casino glossary.
- Spot
- The quantity of numbers marked on a keno ticket.
- Catch
- A number on the ticket that appears in the draw.
- Way ticket
- A ticket with several groups of numbers played as several tickets at once.
- King
- A number circled on its own that counts as part of every group on the ticket.
- Draw
- The selection of twenty numbers from the pool of eighty.
Keno FAQ
Why is the keno house edge so much larger than other games?
Because payouts on every line of the table sit far below the true odds. Catching all ten numbers has a chance of one in 8,911,711, while the payout is typically twenty-five thousand to one hundred thousand times the stake. Added together, that produces a house edge of 25% to 29%.
Does marking more numbers improve the odds?
The chance of catching some numbers rises, but so does the number of catches needed for a payout. The house edge of a ticket with few numbers and one with many is usually similar at the same operator.
Are some keno numbers drawn more often?
No. Every draw uses the full pool of eighty numbers, so the chance of each number stays at twenty-five percent. Hot and cold number boards record only what has already happened.
What is the difference between lounge keno and machine keno?
Lounge keno is slow and carries a house edge of 25% to 29%, while machine keno is fast and usually carries 4% to 12%. Because of the speed, hourly exposure on machine keno can be higher despite the smaller edge.
How many numbers should be marked?
No quantity is more profitable than another. Four to six numbers gives the most even spread of results, while ten or more depends on outcomes that occur very rarely.
Is keno the same as a daily number lottery?
The structure is similar: mark numbers, then match them against a draw. The differences lie in how many numbers are drawn, in the pay tables, and in how much more frequently draws are held in a keno lounge.