Progress Publishing Co.

 How to Play Keno

 

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How to Play Keno

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How to Play Keno

Keno Tickets

Straight Tickets

Split Tickets

Way Tickets

Combination Tickets

King Tickets

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How to Play Keno

To play Keno is as easy and simple as to play your State Lotto. The routine involves few steps to start and complete the whole process. If you have any questions you can find the answers in supplied keno rate cards or from any employee inside the keno lounge.
Keno game consists of random drawing of 20 numbered balls out of 80 placed into a transparent plastic container called “goose”. The object of the game is for a player to match his chosen numbers with the numbers on the 20 selected balls. To participate in the keno draw a player must get a blank keno ticket and cross out from one to 15 numbers, which he thinks will be drawn. . Keno tickets and black crayons to mark the numbers on the tickets are always available in the keno lounge, bars and restaurants. The maximum number of spots to cross out is different in different casinos. Some casinos have games with twenty and more numbers for the players to choose. In addition to the crossed numbers on his ticket a player must also write the total number of selections on the right side of the ticket and his wager in the top right corner. The higher the bet is and the more crossed numbers match those among the 20 randomly selected the higher the prize is for a player. After a ticket has been completed and checked for errors, a player takes it to a keno writer in the keno lounge, pays to place his bet and gets a duplicate printed by a computer as a proof of his purchase. Duplicate ticket has the same information as a player’s original ticket plus the date and a number of the keno race, which this ticket is good for. With the duplicate in his hands, a player sits down and waits for the drawing to begin. As soon as the keno ball is selected during the game, its lit up number shows up on the big keno board in the keno lounge and on the smaller boards spread over casino bars and restaurants. When all twenty numbers are on the boards a player checks his ticket and the rate card to see how many numbers he guessed correctly and how big is his prize. A player takes his winning ticket to a keno writer in the keno lounge and collects his winnings. The winnings must be collected before the start of the next game, otherwise they become void and a player will not get paid. A player does not have to be in the keno lounge to play the game. He can play while drinking in the bar or stuffing himself in the restaurant. There are always keno runners around to take player’s ticket and his wager. They’ll take them to a keno writer and return back with the duplicate. If a player has a winning ticket, a keno runner will cash it for him if the amount is small. If the prize is big, a runner will collect it from a keno writer.

Keno Tickets

There are few types of Keno tickets. All of them are the variations of the most basic type – “straight” ticket.

Straight Tickets

That type of tickets is the most basic way to play keno. Straight tickets have a certain quantity of numbers crossed. The quantity allowed by casino is most often between one and fifteen numbers chosen out of 80. The crossed out numbers are called “spots”. A ticket wit six numbers selected is a 6-spot ticket. If there are ten selections on the ticket it’s a 10-spot ticket etc. Straight tickets are straightforward in their meaning. They can’t be misunderstood or interpreted in different ways. The number of spots on the straight ticket plus the amount of the indicated wager defines completely player’s game.  Minimum rate for the straight ticket is usually $1. Many players like to play straight tickets because they are inexpensive and the winnings are easy to calculate. The payoff rates vary from casino to casino. Below is an example of an 8-spot straight ticket.

   

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

 

Split Tickets

Split tickets is the next level in playing keno. The difference of principle between straight and split tickets is that the split ticket represents two or more tickets in one. The numbers that belong to such tickets are separated by the straight line or by the circles. The line or the circle split the numbers into different groups and the numbers from these groups are treated separately and can not be mixed when the results of the draw are checked. The groups don’t have to contain equal number of spots. Some casinos charge half of the minimum rate for every sub-ticket on a split ticket. In this case if a split ticket represents for ex, 6 tickets, the minimum price for that split ticket will be $3 instead of $6. Besides the marked spots, the split ticket must show the total wager, the number and type of sub-tickets and the player’s wager for each type of the sub-ticket. Below are two examples of split tickets.

   

200

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1/5

1

1/3

1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

 

400

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 

1/2

2

2/3

1

 

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

The split ticket on the right is split with a diagonal line into two tickets - 5-spot ticket (spots 2, 8, 13, 35 and 52) on the top and 3-spot ticket (spots 30, 45 and 67) on the bottom. The total wager is indicated in the top right corner. The types of the tickets and the quantity of them on that split ticket are shown on the right side of the ticket. Also, the wager for each ticket is shown under it. The split ticket on the right is split into 3 tickets by 3 circles - two 3-spot tickets and one 2-spot ticket.

Way Tickets

Way tickets add more options to your keno play. A way ticket must have 3 or more groups of equal number of spots. The groups are combined to create new "ways" to play. Way tickets are more versatile than straight and split tickets. They give more chances to a player to win but they are more expensive. Below are two examples of the way tickets.

 
   

300

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3/6

1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

 

   

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6/4

1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

 

The ticket on the left has 3 groups of 3 spots each. They are combined into three possible straight tickets 6-spot each.  The ticket on the right has 4 groups of 2 spots each. They are used to make 6 possible "ways" to play 6 straight tickets 4-spot each.

Combination Tickets

Combination tickets add even more sophistication to your keno play. The difference between a combination ticket and a way ticket is that the groups of spots to be combined on the combination ticket may include different number of spots. Also, the number of possible combinations may cover all possible combinations producing straight tickets of all possible sizes. Some casinos charge cheaper than minimal rate per combination on a combination ticket. Below is a typical example of a combination ticket.

 
   

700

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1/2
1/3
1/4
1/5
1/6
1/7
1/9

1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

This combination ticket has 3 unequal groups of  4, 3 and 2 spots. These groups and their combinations represent 7 possible straight tickets of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 spots. If a player paid $1 per combination the total wager is on that ticket is $7.

King Ticket

King ticket expands more player's choices in his keno play. That ticket has one number which is called a "king" number because it can't be played by itself but must be combined with other king numbers (if there are more than one king on a ticket) or groups of numbers to create different "ways" (possible straight tickets) to play. Below is an example of a simple king ticket.

   

600

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1/3

2/4

1/5

1/7

1/8

1

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Keno Limit $50,000 to aggregate players each game
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
51 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
 

This king ticket has one king number - 17. It is combined with 3-spot (13, 23 and 33) and 4-spot (55, 56, 57 and 58) groups to make 4-spot, 5-spot and 8-spot "ways" to play. Also 3-spot and 4-spot groups are united to make a 7-spot straight ticket. In addition 3-spot and 4-spot groups are played by themselves as 3-spot and 4-spot straight tickets. In result the ticket above has a total of 6 straight tickets in one. If a bet was $1 per "way" the total wager is $6.

Copyright Progress Publishing Co. 2006