Top Strategies for Winning Keno
Are you looking for an online casino game that combines elements of bingo and lotteries, and offers a fun and straightforward way to win? Then keno might be the perfect thing for you. It’s as easy as choosing numbers; if they’re drawn, you’ll be a winner.
The great thing about this game is that there’s not a lot of keno strategy to learn, as it’s largely a game of chance. As soon as you’ve learned some basic rules, you’ll be ready to try it and have just as good a chance of winning as anyone else. That said, we do have a few top keno tips to give you.
If you’re keen to try your hand at this game but are unsure how to play in a way that gives you a great chance of a win, you’ve come to the right place. Our team of experts here at Betsquare all have a ton of knowledge about keno, so we’ve put together some top strategies for you to use when you’re playing.
What Is Keno and How Does It Work?
Keno originated in China centuries ago and was initially played with traditional Chinese characters – players would choose characters, and you’d be the winner if your character was selected. Years later, Chinese people introduced the game to the West in the 19th century, and it has only grown in popularity since then. Now, you’ll find keno at land-based casinos all over the world, as well as at a variety of online casinos.
Before you take your (real or virtual) seat and begin to play, it’s really important that you understand exactly how keno works and that you know the basic rules. If you’ve played bingo or lotteries before, you’ll probably understand some of the key concepts of keno.
Usually, keno is played on cards with numbers listed from one to 80. The player will select the numbers they want up to the maximum allowed amount, and the total bet cost will be based on how many numbers are chosen. It works the same way at land-based casinos and online, but if you’re playing online, you’ll click or tap on the numbers to select them, whereas in person, you might circle them.
Once numbers have been selected on the cards, the winning numbers are randomly chosen. If you’re playing in person, this can be done using a ball machine, but if you’re playing online, it will be with Random Number Generator technology to ensure that it’s all totally fair.
After the numbers have been drawn, players are paid based on the number of winning numbers in their selection. In that way, keno is very similar to a lottery.
Just like with all other online casino games, keno tends to come in multiple different variations, and they might each have different rules. Before you start playing, take a quick look at the game info to ensure you understand what’s happening.
Selecting the Right Keno Game
Before selecting an excellent keno game, you must sign up at a reputable casino. It’s easy to find the best keno sites for Aussie online casino players – you can browse our lists here at Betsquare.
The most important things to consider are the safety and reputation of the online casino site, the desktop and mobile experience, and the bonuses and promotions you can claim. But most of all, don’t forget to check that your chosen online casino actually has keno options – many gambling sites have hundreds of slots and dozens of live dealer games, but they might not have any keno at all.
When selecting an actual game, the first thing you’ll want to look at is the potential payouts – it makes sense that you’ll want to choose an option that gives you a good chance of winning. You can see the payout percentage in the game info once you’ve opened up the game.
Another consideration is the numbers to bet on. Usually, you can bet on either 10, 15, or 20 numbers, and 20 out of the 80 are chosen. You might want to choose a keno variation where you can bet on the full 20 numbers, but remember; it will cost more to bet on the maximum number.
Once you’ve chosen your game, you’ll be ready to apply some keno strategies, so we’ll go into detail about those next.
Maximising Your Odds With Number Selection
When you’re considering how to maximise your odds on keno, the answer might seem obvious: bet on as many numbers as possible. That means you have the best possible chance of one of your numbers coming up in the draw. But the more numbers you bet on, the more it costs you, so that’s not always the answer.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the more numbers you pick, the lower your odds of hitting them all, but the bigger your potential payout. So, it’s important to balance the risks with the potential rewards.
For this reason, a better strategy is to bet on between four and eight numbers. There’s a straightforward reason for this: if you choose more than eight numbers, you’ll need to get four or more winning numbers to make a profit after what you’ve paid for the wager, which can be challenging. If you choose less than four numbers, you don’t have a very good chance of any of them appearing in the 20 winning numbers – after all, there are 80 possible numbers on a keno card.
There are some maths that go into figuring out the exact statistics behind a potential win on keno, but one of those stats is easy enough to understand: if you bet on one number, your chances of winning are 25%. That’s because 20 numbers out of 80 are chosen, so one in four, which is a 25% chance of any number coming up.
The chances of matching all your numbers start to decrease then. For example, if you choose two numbers, you have a 6.01% chance of winning. However, when we reach four numbers, it shoots back up to 25.9%, while at ten numbers, you have an 11% chance of a win.
Playing with Hot and Cold Numbers
Even if you’re unfamiliar with hot and cold numbers, you can probably figure out what they are. Essentially, hot numbers are the ones that have come up most often recently, while cold numbers are the opposite. But can applying different keno strategies to the two different types of numbers give you an edge?
To understand whether or not there’s any weight behind the hot and cold numbers concept, you first need to understand how Random Number Generators work. Basically, RNG technology uses advanced mathematics to determine which numbers come up each time. The same concept drives online slot games and other online casino games like virtual roulette or blackjack. And when random numbers are going to come up, it doesn’t matter if they’ve come up before or not, right?
That’s exactly correct. While some online casinos will display the recent hot numbers so you can use them to decide which ones you’d like to choose on your keno card, they really don’t mean anything. Just because number 13 has come up eight times today, while 15 has only come up once, doesn’t mean either of those are more or less likely to come up again next time.
As keno is a game of luck, we don’t recommend you necessarily use hot and cold numbers to decide which you want to pick – just choose whatever numbers you prefer.
Managing Your Bankroll
Whether keno is the first online casino game you’re trying or you’re a bit of a pro, it’s still important to manage your bankroll effectively so that you don’t lose all your money immediately if you don’t get lucky.
Our top recommendation is to set a budget and stick to it no matter what. You might want to set a budget for a week, a month, or just one gameplay session – it depends on what works for you. Remember, you should also gamble responsibly, and all of the best online casinos have tools and features that can help you stay in control, for example deposit limits or time outs.
Once you’ve set your overall budget, you’ll want to consider the size of your bets. Keeping them quite small is a good idea, especially while you’re starting to know the game. You can always increase your bets later when you’re a little more familiar with exactly how keno works. Your budget might also determine how many numbers you bet on each time you play – don’t forget, the more numbers you choose, the higher your final bet amount will be, and although you’ll have more chances to win, more risk is involved.
Placing smaller bets on fewer numbers will protect you from risk and allow your money to go further, but there’s also another sure-fire way to ensure that you can keep playing keno to your heart’s content: by claiming bonuses. Most of the best online casinos have a welcome offer for new players, so you might get a lot of bonus cash that you can use to play games of your choice, including keno.
Other online casinos have regular offers like a deposit match or cashback for regulars, so keep an eye on the promos section to see what’s available. It’s really important to read the T&Cs in detail before you claim promos, as sometimes they’re only valid on pokies.
Advanced Keno Strategies
Remember how we said keno is a game of chance? Well, that’s true, but even so, you can use some advanced keno strategies to improve your chances of winning.
Four Card Keno Strategy
Some online keno games allow you to play on four separate cards at the same time. Essentially, that means you can choose four times the amount of numbers and give yourself four times the chance to win. Sounds ideal, right? Yes, it’s a good strategy to use and ensures that you can cover a lot of the card, but remember, it will cost you four times as much.
Mass Keno Strategy
The Mass keno strategy involves betting on hot numbers. Statistics have shown that the numbers that come up most often in keno are 1, 4, 23, 34, and 72, so this strategy involves selecting those numbers on your card and hoping they come up.
7-Spot Keno Strategy
This strategy is a little more complicated, so it suits experienced keno players rather than beginners. Here’s what you have to do:
- Split the board into two sections: one will be 1 – 40, and the other will be 41 – 80.
- Divide the board into four quadrants
In theory, 10 numbers should appear from the first section and 10 from the second section. In the same way, five numbers from each quadrant should be drawn.
The final step is to bet on clusters of seven numbers that share at least three or four numbers with other cards. You’ll have to play with at least four cards to make this a success. If the numbers in your clusters come up, you could get a much bigger payout, as the numbers appear on multiple cards.
Practising with Free Keno Games
If you’re brand new to keno (or even if you’ve played in person but not online), it’s a good idea to test out the game for free before you commit to playing for real money.
There are many free keno games online, and some top Australian online casinos even allow you to play the game in demo mode before committing to spending cash. You’ll usually be given free dummy credits, which you can use to test out the games, and all the features will be the same as if you were playing for real money. Remember, seeing you can’t lose any real cash, you can’t win any.
Another way to practice keno for free is by claiming bonuses and promotions. As we mentioned, casino bonuses might not always be valid on keno, but if you find one, it’s a great way to get to know the game risk-free. The best thing about playing with bonus money rather than in demo mode is that you can win real money, even if you have to meet wagering requirements.
Conclusion
Even though keno is largely a game of chance, there are still a few top keno strategies that you can use to improve your chances of a win. Remember always to choose a game that has a high payout percentage, and consider selecting between four and eight numbers so that you can balance the chances of winning with the risks of losing.
Our final tips are to always play keno responsibly and, most of all, remember that it’s just a game and should be fun. Set yourself deposit or loss limits, and after that, simply go ahead and choose the numbers you want and wait to see if you’ve gotten lucky enough to win.
If you’re ready to try keno, you can sign up at one of our recommended online casinos now to claim your welcome offer and start playing.