Originating in ancient China, around 200 years B.C., keno was introduced in the United States by Chinese immigrants who arrived in the west from across the Pacific. The simple and easy-to-play nature of the game won great fondness and before long it was the choice game on gambling tables. Today, keno remains ever more popular in casinos throughout the Unites States and is also one of the most frequently played online casino games.Nature of the GameKeno closely resembles lottery or bingo. Each player is allowed to select his/her numbers out of the 80 given numbers (from 1 to 80). Players may select between one to ten (in some places up to 20) numbers on their keno tickets. The casino then randomly draws 20 numbers of the entire set of 80 numbers. If a player’s chosen numbers match those drawn by the casino, he/she wins.PayoutsThe payouts in Keno vary for each player, depending mainly on how many numbers he/she chooses and how many of them match those drawn by the casino. These successful numbers are popularly called ‘hits’. As a general rule, the more numbers you choose on your ticket and the more hits you get, the greater will be the winning amount. But the win also varies from casino to casino.Odds and Winning StrategiesOne’s chances, or odds, of making a big win in Keno are quite low. In fact, there is only one chance in about 3.5 quintillion to hit all 20 numbers selected on one’s ticket. We may, therefore, call keno a game of nearly pure chance. However, some players do believe that a number of techniques, besides the element of serendipity, for winning reasonable payouts; just like poker wins, once considered a matter of pure chance, later proved to be influenced by the choice and use of cards. Here are some tips for increasing the chances of winning an awesome payout in keno.o Unless you are looking for only a few bucks, pick many numbers instead of a few.
o Experts in keno believe that picking 7 to 11 numbers increases your chances of making more hits. Those who choose 11 numbers have maximum chances of making the most hits.
o There is no right or wrong way of selecting the ‘winning numbers’; the selection process is purely random.
o Out of the Chinese traditions, it comes ‘lucky’ that you maintain a balance of your numbers by picking as many from the upper half of the board as those chosen from the lower half.
o If you are a believer, try small bets first. Be ready to lose some rounds before you start wining.Interesting Facts about Kenoo In the original Chinese version of keno, there were 120 numbers on board, based on the 120 characters from the poem of Cheung Leung, who is credited as the originator of keno. Over the course of time, the numbers were reduced to 90, and finally, by the time keno reached the US, to 80.o While keno was introduced in the west by the Chinese, playing keno in China is illegal due to the ban on all kinds of gambling enforced by the communist regime of China.