Keno Winning Strategies
Keno is a casino gambling game that involves selecting from one to 20 numbers in a range from one to 80. The numbers are drawn randomly using a machine that chooses numbered balls one at a time. The more numbers you choose, the worse your odds become, but the money you stand to win become exponentially higher. Formulating a strategy for a game that is completely random may seem pointless, but there are a few strategies that keno players believe in that are regularly practiced, according to GamblingPlanet.org.
Hot Numbers
Observe the game for several rounds and determine what the hot numbers are. Hot numbers are the ones that seem to be getting drawn over and over again. While there is no better chance for one number to be drawn over another, this method is a common practiced.
Betting hot numbers is known as "chasing the pack," according to LuckyKenoNumbers.com. This method actually goes against logic since theoretically all the numbers will come up the same number of times eventually, yet many players claim this is how they win.
Playing Strays
Playing strays is the opposite of betting hot numbers. Observe the game for several rounds and determine numbers not coming up at all. These are considered stray numbers that must be drawn eventually.
Bet on the stray numbers in hopes that they must be drawn eventually to even out the odds. All the numbers have equal odds of being drawn, so this method is actually playing in a logical way. If you watch four games and the number 10 never came up during those games but the number 20 came up in all four games, logic and odds would suggest that 10 will come up again before 20 will. Of course, there are no guarantees or else everyone would be winning.
Stick With It
Perhaps the most heavily practiced keno strategy is to stick with your lucky numbers. Choose how many numbers to play and which ones you want to bet on. Eventually your numbers will be drawn, so stick with your favorite numbers and wait it out.
Probability
Keno seems like a simple game to play, and it is, but it's tough to win-sort of.
Luck has everything to do with winning a keno game. You may play one time and win $500 on the first draw, or you may play your numbers on a multi-game ticket over 100 games and never win anything.
Learn the odds before playing keno so you will know what you are getting into and how much time and money to invest in it.
If you play a single number, you still only have a 25 percent chance of your number coming up in the next game. The odds only go downhill from there.
Hitting all your numbers on a three-number ticket happens 1.4 percent of the time. That's only once in 140 plays, and it is still not guaranteed. On the big money end of the spectrum, all tickets of six numbers or more have less than a 0.1 percent chance of having all of the numbers drawn in a single game.
