Pick 1–10 numbers from 1 to 80. The house draws 20. Get paid by how many of yours hit. Casino lottery, no ticket fee.
| Pick | Hits → multiplier |
|---|---|
| Pick 1 | 1→3× |
| Pick 2 | 2→12× |
| Pick 3 | 2→1× · 3→42× |
| Pick 4 | 2→1× · 3→4× · 4→120× |
| Pick 5 | 3→2× · 4→15× · 5→500× |
| Pick 6 | 3→1× · 4→4× · 5→80× · 6→1500× |
| Pick 7 | 4→2× · 5→21× · 6→400× · 7→7000× |
| Pick 8 | 5→12× · 6→90× · 7→1500× · 8→10000× |
| Pick 9 | 5→5× · 6→50× · 7→300× · 8→4000× · 9→25000× |
| Pick 10 | 5→2× · 6→20× · 7→130× · 8→1000× · 9→5000× · 10→100000× |
| House edge ranges 25-30% across pick counts — keno is one of the worst casino games mathematically. Pick 5 has the best return at this paytable. The "100,000× pick 10/10" headline is real but ~1 in 8.9 quintillion. | |
Keno has the worst house edge of any common casino game — 25-30% in most casinos, sometimes as high as 40%. It's a lottery: pick numbers, the casino draws numbers, count how many match. Despite the awful math, keno survives because the top prize on a "10-spot" can be six figures on a small bet, and the slow pace gives players time to socialize. As entertainment, fine; as a bet, atrocious.
Pick between 2 and 10 numbers (a "spot") from 1-80. The casino draws 20 numbers from the same 80. Your payout depends on how many of your picks matched the draw, scaled by the size of your spot. A "10-spot" hitting all 10 typically pays 100,000:1 or more; hitting 6 of 10 might pay 20:1; hitting 5 of 10 pays 2:1; hitting 0-4 of 10 pays nothing.
There is no strategy. Every number is equally likely; "hot" and "cold" numbers are gambler's fallacy. The only consequential choice is spot size — different spot sizes have slightly different house edges across casinos, typically ranging 25-30%. Avoid "way" tickets and most multi-game tickets; they're convenience features, not optimization. Keno is best understood as a lottery played in real time — never invest meaningful bankroll in it.
Hitting all 10 on a 10-spot has probability C(10,10) × C(70,10) / C(80,20) = 1 / 8,911,712. The headline payout of 100,000:1 means EV from the jackpot alone is 0.0000112 per dollar wagered. Combined with smaller catch payouts, total RTP is typically 70-75%, leaving 25-30% house edge. Variance is enormous — most sessions lose 100% of bets; the rare big hit, when it comes, dwarfs the cumulative losses to that point.
Keno originated in ancient China as "the white pigeon game" — possibly the oldest gambling game still played in casinos today. Legend credits it with helping finance the Great Wall. It came to America with Chinese immigrants in the 19th century and became a casino staple in Nevada in the 1930s, evolving its current Bingo-style draw format.
| Bet | Payout | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Catch 10 of 10 | 100,000:1 | ~1 in 8.9 million |
| Catch 9 of 10 | 5,000:1 | ~1 in 163,000 |
| Catch 8 of 10 | 1,000:1 | ~1 in 7,400 |
| Catch 5 of 10 | 2:1 | ~1 in 19 |
Every game on placebets.ai uses virtual chips that reset whenever you clear browser data. There is no signup, no deposit, no withdrawal mechanism, and no monetary value attached to the chips shown on screen. Use the practice environment to drill keno's math and strategy without risk. Decide for yourself whether you ever want to play for real money — we'd statistically rather you didn't.