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All keno odds are not created equal, so you shouldn’t just approach a keno game and start betting on numbers without learning some critical knowledge first. Knowing how to increase the odds in your favor will give you the best chance at winning. A fun fact about keno is that it’s one of the oldest games in the world, dating back over 2,000 years to Ancient China.
What are the Keno Odds?
The odds in keno will vary, depending on how many numbers you wish to bet. The house edge will also fluctuate, depending on how many numbers you want to bet, meaning you may want to completely avoid betting on a certain number of numbers altogether.
The house edge comes from the casino or online casino retailer paying out at a much lower rate compared to the actual odds of hitting your numbers. For example, on a typical 80-number board, the odds of hitting all 10 of your numbers from 20 numbers drawn is an astounding 1 in 8,911,711. However, some retailers may only pay you $200,000 on a $1 bet. Nevertheless, each keno game and online retailer has their own payouts, so how much you stand to make will vary.
One of the best parts about playing keno is that you’re fully in control of your bets. You get to decide how much you want to bet, which numbers you want to bet, and how many numbers you want to play.
Keno Payouts
Keno payouts will vary depending on the game you’re playing and where you’re playing at. Unlike games like roulette or blackjack even though keno probabilities stay the same, the odds paid out for picking the right numbers vary between operators. However, there is a payout chart based on the classic keno format that we’re happy to provide.
Keno Payouts Chart
For a better view of the different payouts in the classic format, check out the following keno odds chart. It shows all the various combinations of numbers picked, matched numbers, the true odds, and the profit you stand to make from a $1 bet.
| Numbers picked | Matched numbers | Odds | Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1:4 | $1 |
| 2 | 2 | 1:17 | $10 |
| 3 | 2 | 1:8 | $2 |
| 3 | 3 | 1:73 | $25 |
| 4 | 2 | 1:5 | $1 |
| 4 | 3 | 1:24 | $5 |
| 4 | 4 | 1:327 | $50 |
| 5 | 3 | 1:12 | $2 |
| 5 | 4 | 1:83 | $15 |
| 5 | 5 | 1:1,551 | $500 |
| 6 | 3 | 1:8 | $1 |
| 6 | 4 | 1:36 | $5 |
| 6 | 5 | 1:324 | $50 |
| 6 | 6 | 1:7,753 | $1,500 |
| 7 | 3 | 1:6 | $1 |
| 7 | 4 | 1:20 | $2 |
| 7 | 5 | 1:116 | $15 |
| 7 | 6 | 1:1,366 | $150 |
| 7 | 7 | 1:40,980 | $5,000 |
| 8 | 4 | 1:13 | $2 |
| 8 | 5 | 1:55 | $10 |
| 8 | 6 | 1:423 | $50 |
| 8 | 7 | 1:6,233 | $400 |
| 8 | 8 | 1:230,115 | $15,000 |
| 9 | 4 | 1:9 | $1 |
| 9 | 5 | 1:31 | $4 |
| 9 | 6 | 1:175 | $25 |
| 9 | 7 | 1:1,691 | $200 |
| 9 | 8 | 1:30,628 | $2,500 |
| 9 | 9 | 1:1,380,688 | $25,000 |
| 10 | 0 | 1:22 | $3 |
| 10 | 5 | 1:19 | $3 |
| 10 | 6 | 1:87 | $10 |
| 10 | 7 | 1:621 | $50 |
| 10 | 8 | 1:7,385 | $500 |
| 10 | 9 | 1:163,382 | $10,000 |
| 10 | 10 | 1:8,911,712 | $200,000 |
Keno House Edge
The RTP at your local casino will be one of the worst in the entire casino, typically coming in at 60-70%. However, keno games at the online casinos can offer a much better RTP, typically coming in at 85-95%. Furthermore, you may have the option to choose even more numbers, with some games offering the chance to pick up to 15 or even 20 numbers.
We highly recommend that you never choose that many numbers. Keno probability means the odds for landing all 15 of your numbers is an astronomical 1 in 428 billion (1 in 428,010,179,098 to be exact). The odds of landing all 20 numbers are 1 in 3.5 quintillion (1 in 3,535,316,142,212,174,320).
The Bets with the Best Keno Odds
We have multiple math degrees, so we’re going to use them. Here, we’ve calculated the odds of making any profit whatsoever based on how many numbers you’ve selected. As you can see, the expected RTPs range from 70-75%. However, the percentage of the time that you’ll win widely varies, based on the number of numbers that you select.
What the data in the below keno odds chart will tell you is that the lower percentage of a chance you have to win, the higher the variance will be. This means that your wins will be much larger but you won’t win as much. The opposite is true for selecting 3, 4, or 6 numbers. So take this information and wager based on how you would like to play.
| Numbers selected | Percentage Chance to Win | Expected RTP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25% | 75% |
| 2 | 6.01% | 72.15% |
| 3 | 15.28% | 72.15% |
| 4 | 25.9% | 71.00% |
| 5 | 9.7% | 70.87% |
| 6 | 16.2% | 70.99% |
| 7 | 6.2% | 70.42% |
| 8 | 2.1% | 70.53% |
| 9 | 3.9% | 70.23% |
| 10 | 11% | 70.46% |
Can You Improve the Keno Odds?
Yes, you can improve your keno odds simply by staying at home. Playing online instead of at your local brick-and-mortar casino will drastically improve your odds simply because online retailers offer much better payouts. In fact, the RTP of keno at live casinos can be as low as 60-70%, often making keno, by far, the worst game to play in the entire casino. Online keno, especially at the bitcoin keno casinos, typically offers an RTP of 85-95%, which is on par with low-to-average slot machines.
