There was a time that every casino on the Las Vegas Strip had a live keno lounge. Keno was so prevalent in casinos that most casinos had keno runners that would walk around the casino floor and even walk through the restaurants and coffee shops selling keno tickets.
But that doesn’t mean that keno isn’t as popular as ever, as the game enjoys a massive following in the digital world. Whether that is at a slot machine in a brick-and-mortar casino or at an online casino, there are still plenty of ways to get your keno fix.
Last call. Keno at Caesars. pic.twitter.com/cYTWfY5Vgv
— Classic Las Vegas (@classiclasvegas) June 19, 2019
Keno can certainly be a ton of fun, as the game is exciting and offers a shot at life-changing money for just a couple of bucks per game. That being said, keno does have one of the higher house advantages of any modern casino game, so if you want to walk away a winner, you have to know what you are doing!
In this article, we are going to bring you TheSportsGeek’s top 5 expert keno tips! Playing keno is fun, but we all know winning is even more fun, and if you want to win, you must make sure you follow these expert keno tips! With that, let’s jump right into it, with TheSportsGeek’s top 5 expert keno tips!
Keno Expert Tips
In this section, TheSportsGeek’s resident casino expert, Jason Gray, will provide you with his top 5 expert keno tips. Jason spent over a decade managing casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including managing one of the few remaining keno lounges in Las Vegas! If you want to learn how not to lose at keno, make sure that you pay close attention to these expert keno tips, from a true casino industry insider!
Play 6-8 Numbers
On most versions of keno, you can play anywhere between 1 and 20 numbers. The more numbers that you play, the higher your potential payout is going to be if you can hit them all. And while those bigger payouts might seem enticing, bigger isn’t always better!
That is because, with keno, the pay tables don’t exactly follow the true odds of hitting as more numbers are added. Yeah, the payouts get bigger with the additional numbers added, but so does the casino’s house advantage.
The sweet spot in keno is somewhere between 6-8 numbers. When you play between 6 and 8 numbers, you still have a shot at big money, and the house edge is as low as it is going to get. If you play fewer numbers, the prizes aren’t worth chasing, and if you play more numbers, the money gets better, but the house advantage becomes impossible to beat.
If you want to walk away a winner playing keno, then you need to follow expert keno tip #1 and play between 6 and 8 numbers, no more, no less. Now that you know how many numbers you should be playing, let’s talk a little bit about having your play rated.
Always Have Your Play Rated
We just talked about how the casino has a built-in advantage, where they know that they are going to win your money eventually. Because of this, they are going to offer you all kinds of incentives to play.
Sometimes, this will be a sign-up bonus or deposit match if you are playing online, and other times this could be a comped hotel stay or free dinner.
Whatever the case may be, if you are willing to play in a casino, they are willing to reward that play with free stuff. But there is one catch, as you must have your play rated in order to get rewarded. Luckily for you, that isn’t hard to do, as all you have to do to have your play rated is to sign up for the casino’s loyalty club card.
That usually takes a matter of seconds and is always free. Make sure that wherever you decide to play, you present your player’s card prior to starting your play, and all that is left is to watch the free stuff roll in! If you want to win in a casino, taking advantage of all of the freebies that you can is a great way to help overcome the odds that are stacked against you.
Try Multi Card Keno
With the advent of digital keno, we have seen a bunch of different versions of the game pop up. There is bonus keno, caveman keno, Cleopatra keno, and many more, as the keno variants are nearly endless these days.
My personal favorite is what is known as multi card keno. Multi card keno is just that, a keno game where they draw one set of numbers, but you can play multiple different keno cards simultaneously.
The reason that multi card keno can be so much fun to play is because of how you can place your bets to overlap on multiple cards. You are able to cover more numbers total, giving you a better shot at winning, and when you nail those numbers that are overlapped on multiple cards, the wins grow exponentially. I suggest you give multi card keno a shot on your next trip to the casino, as when you hit, you can hit huge!
Look for Progressive Jackpots
Keno has always been a game that lures players in by offering the ability to win huge jackpots for small wagers. It plays on the same concept as the lottery, as somebody has to win, and when they do, it can change their life.
Some casinos have taken that dream to the next level by adding a progressive jackpot to their keno games. The way that a progressive jackpot works is that for every dollar the casino collects on the game, they add a small percentage to the jackpot.
And despite the fact that keno can have a staggeringly high casino advantage at times, if that progressive jackpot gets big enough, you can actually flip those odds completely around and have a long-term edge on the casino.
When you are looking for a progressive jackpot on a keno game, the first thing that you need to do is make sure you understand what it takes to win. I know we already talked about how you want to play 6-8 numbers, but if the casino that you are playing at offers a progressive jackpot for 10 out of 10, then you would be silly not to play enough numbers to qualify.
If you Hit it Big, Make Sure you Run!
This final expert keno tip is one that you are going to thank me for later. It can be tough to win at keno. Unlike other grinder-type games like blackjack, where you are likely to walk away a small winner or a small loser, when it comes to keno, it is all boom or bust. You are either going to hit that 8 spot and get paid huge, or you are going to go broke chasing it.
And that is just fine, as many players like the fact that they are chasing life-changing money and would much rather have a shot at hitting it big one time in a million, than winning a couple of bucks every once in a while. There is a reason that Mega Bucks gets so much action, and it is the Mega Bucks at stake, not the chance to break even or turn a small profit.
If you play long enough, keno will drain your bankroll. When you do nail that 6 spot or connect on 7 out of 8 and get a big payout, don’t be afraid to walk away. In fact, don’t be afraid to run! It is never a bad thing to walk away a winner, and sometimes that means actually having the courage to walk away a winner when you are up.
As someone who has spent my entire adult life in casinos, on both sides of the tables and machines, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen players hit it big, only to watch them stay too long and lose it all back. When you are playing a boom or bust game like keno, when it booms, you have to make sure you don’t hang around long enough for it to bust.
Where to Play Keno?
Now that you have these expert keno tips in your back pocket, I bet you are ready to find a game and get in on the action! I wish I could tell you where to go play live keno, as the experience of playing keno in a brick-and-mortar setting can be a lot of fun. But sadly, those days are all but gone.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy keno online! Online keno is actually quite a bit better when it comes to comps, pay tables, and progressive jackpots, and it can be just as fun when you hit it big.
If you are looking for a place to play online keno, look no further than TheSportsGeek’s online keno page. There you will find exclusive offers for our readers, and you won’t want to miss out on all of that free cash! Thanks for reading, and good luck playing online keno!
