Keno Basics, History & Strategy

The game of Keno’s roots and history can be found in China. In China, a game very similar to Keno has been played for several thousand years by emperors, warlords, merchants and peasants. TheFrank Scoblete is the one of the most popular gaming authors in America. He has released sixteen books, three audiotapes, three videotapes, and his own imprint, the Scoblete Get-the-Edge Guides.  Frank's website is www.goldentouchcraps.com 
Video Keno Screen  name of the Chinese game was and is Kino.

It was so popular in the 1800’s in America with the Chinese laborers that soon enterprising Americans took over the game, changed its name to Keno, and set up “Keno parlors” throughout the west.

Keno was known as the “Chinese Lottery” and at one time just about every town in the west had its Keno parlor.  

For those of you who enjoy playing lotteries, or local charity chance books, or if numbers are your thing, the casino game of Keno might hold some interest for you. It is indeed the equivalent of a lottery but much faster. You don’t have to wait a few days for the results, just a few minutes. Of course, like the lottery, Keno comes in with very high edges for the house – 25 percent, more or less, depending on the casino where the game is being played and the type of wagers being pursued.

The players’ tickets are numbered one through 80. You can choose to play between one and 20 numbers on a given ticket. The numbers to be played are “X’ed” out in crayon.

To win a multi-number bet, you often don’t have to select all the numbers, just some of them. 

Following are some of the most popular betting options at Keno:

Straight Ticket: A player can mark one, two, or more numbers on a ticket.

Split Ticket: A player can bet on two or more groups of numbers on a single ticket by circling the groups to be played.   

Combination Ticket: The player selects two or more groups of numbers and indicates how the groups are to be combined to form many tickets within one ticket.

King Ticket: One number is selected to be used with all the other groups that have been indicated. 

Multi Race Ticket: This is a ticket that indicates that it will be played for two or more sessions in a row.

I have seen several mailings and offers online from individuals who are selling systems to beat Keno.

They claim that they have found patterns to the numbers that can be exploited by their “super-seven Keno buster” or their “Keno pyramid” method or their “ping-pong power play.”

The costs of these systems are – to say the least – outrageous while the claims of the systems are laughable and bogus. There is no magical system for beating Keno and these system sellers are scamming us.

The reason for this conclusion is that the Keno numbers are selected randomly, either by air-driven ping-pong balls, similar to most of the state lotteries, or by computer.

The fact that some numbers may have hit several times and other numbers may not have shown their faces for quite awhile is no indication that a number will continue to hit or is due to hit. Picking numbers is sheer guesswork.

So why play Keno? First, it offers a relaxing atmosphere online and off.

Keno lounges are usually pleasantly appointed places, with comfortable chairs. You can drink a cup of coffee, pick your numbers in a leisurely fashion, and not worry about other players telling you what to do or what not to do.

Playing in front of a computer screen in the comfort of your home also qualifies. 

Additionally, played properly for small stakes, Keno, even with its high house edges, will not drain your gambling bankroll any time soon as it is the snail of casino games.

Here are a couple of suggestions for playing this ‘numbers’ game: