The Basics: Playing Keno is very similar to playing a state lottery. Out of a possible 80 numbers, the house will randomly draw 20, traditionally from a rotating cage filled with numbered balls (1-80). Before the draw, players bet on which numbers they think will be drawn. They can bet on matching as few as two numbers or as many as all ten numbers. Variants of Keno abound; with some casinos turning this simple numbers game into a head scratching puzzle with odds that only a mathematician could calculate. But for all it's variations Keno remains a game of chance that deceptively persuades unwary gamblers to believe that it's easy to win at. With the coming of Four Card and Multi-card Keno, players finally have a chance to increase their jackpots and extend their playing time by using special charts to combine numbers efficiently.
Keno outcome probabilities
Play 1 spot
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.7500 0.3333
1 0.2500 3.0000
Play 2 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.5601 0.7853
1 0.3797 1.6333
2 0.0601 15.6316
Play 3 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.4165 1.4009
1 0.4309 1.3209
2 0.1388 6.2070
3 0.0139 71.0702
Play 4 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.3083 2.2434
1 0.4327 1.3109
2 0.2126 3.7029
3 0.0432 22.1225
4 0.003063 325.44
Play 5 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.2272 3.4017
1 0.4057 1.4650
2 0.2705 2.6974
3 0.0839 10.9140
4 0.0121 81.6970
5 0.000645 1549.57
Play 6 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.1666 5.0023
1 0.3635 1.7511
2 0.3083 2.2434
3 0.1298 6.7030
4 0.0285 34.0411
5 0.003096 322.04
6 0.000129 7751.84
Play 7 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.1216 7.2254
1 0.3152 2.1727
2 0.3267 2.0613
3 0.1750 4.7145
4 0.0522 18.1604
5 0.008639 114.76
6 0.000732 1364.98
7 0.00002440 40978
Play 8 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.0883 10.3294
1 0.2665 2.7529
2 0.3281 2.0474
3 0.2148 3.6558
4 0.0815 11.2694
5 0.0183 53.6371
6 0.002367 421.53
7 0.000160 6231.27
8 0.00000435 230114
Play 9 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.0637 14.6868
1 0.2207 3.5317
2 0.3164 2.1603
3 0.2461 3.0632
4 0.1141 7.7638
5 0.0326 29.6735
6 0.005720 173.84
7 0.000592 1689.11
8 0.00003259 30681
9 7.2428e-007 1.3807e+006
Play 10 spots
Catch probability odds-to-1 against
0 0.0458 20.8385
1 0.1796 4.5688
2 0.2953 2.3869
3 0.2674 2.7397
4 0.1473 5.7880
5 0.0514 18.4448
6 0.0115 86.1126
7 0.001611 619.68
8 0.000135 7383.47
9 0.00000612 163380
10 1.1221e-007 8.9117e+006