Playing Keno - Part 2 of 3

Last time we talked about the different version of Keno and a little bit about payouts. For this article, we'll dive into the basics of the game to get you up to speed and playing. In our last article in this Keno series, we'll look at some of the odds and closing thoughts.

Keno Board

The first main item in Keno is the Keno board. It's the huge board with numbers all over the place. It has 80 total numbers on it, which are numbered 1-80. The board is square and sectioned in the middle, so you have a top and bottom. The top portion has the numbers 1-40. The bottom portion has the numbers 41-80.

When numbers are drawn, they light up on the Keno board. When it's a number you have selected, it's called a “hit.” More on this later. If you're playing the electronic version of Keno, the board is the same. The difference is that you see your selected numbers on the screen and they light up differently when hit.

Keno Game Play

The process of playing a game of Keno is very simple and straightforward. Each game consists of you picking some numbers for starters. In live Keno, you can submit as many “tickets” as you want. In electronic Keno, it's just one ticket per game. A ticket is the paper where you mark your numbers. In electronic Keno, you just mark the screen. You can select 1-20 numbers.

Once your ticket is submitted, it's live for the next game. Each game of Keno features 20 numbers (of the 80 total) being randomly selected. If a number is selected that you picked, it's called a “hit.” The more hits you get, the higher your payout. And the more numbers you played the higher the payout.

For instance, a $1 keno ticket submitted with 3 numbers might pay $40 max. However, a Keno ticket submitted with 6 numbers might pay $1,500 max. Payouts typically go up to $25,000 or so. Some casinos will offer even higher payouts, but that involves getting more numbers right and of course, more luck.

Remember to always shop around. Just in Las Vegas, you could find casinos that pay $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 and other amounts for hitting 6 of 6 numbers. It's not standardized and if you don't shop around, you'll lose money.

So there you have it. Playing a game of Keno is so simple anyone can do it. Next in our last installment of this Keno series, we'll talk about some Keno odds and other items.