A game older than Jesus

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Of all the games that have earned their own section here at SpinsPilot, this is by far the oldest. Keno traces back to ancient China more than 2000 years ago, where, according to legend, a lottery-style game using symbols from the "Thousand Character Classic" was created to fund military campaigns and, possibly, the Great Wall of China. The game, known as "White Pigeon Tickets" (since birds were used to deliver the results), arrived in the USA in the 19th century along with Chinese workers. To get around early 20th-century American gambling laws, which banned lotteries but allowed horse racing, the organisers renamed it "Race Horse Keno", giving the numbers made-up horse names. Although the horse names faded away as the laws changed, the game remains a fixture of modern casinos, having moved from physical wooden balls to fast digital draws while keeping the classic 80-number format.

How does the game work?

The goal is dead simple: you pick your lucky numbers and hope that as many of your marked numbers as possible show up among the ones drawn.

Let's walk through the game step by step.

Pick your numbers

First you decide how many numbers you want to play. Usually you can pick from 1 to 10 (or sometimes 15) numbers out of 80. Playing online, you simply mark them on the screen.

Place your bet

You place your bet. The bet size usually determines how big your potential win will be.

The draw

Then the computer (or the Dealer, if it's Live Keno) draws 20 random numbers out of 80.

Check the result

You compare your marked numbers against the 20 drawn.

The secret to winning: The biggest mistake people make is thinking you have to hit all ten numbers. No! The biggest wins come from hitting, say, 8 or 9 out of 10 marked numbers. And even with a small selection (for example, 3 out of 4), you can already win.

How do payouts work?

The table varies: every casino and every Keno version can have a different pay table. It shows how much you win for each number of hits, based on how many numbers you marked at the start.
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Fewer hits, big win: typically, if you marked 10 numbers and hit 7, you can win far more than if you'd marked 8 numbers and hit 7.
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In short: Keno is an easy, meditative game. Pick your "lucky" numbers, place a bet and watch the balls come out. A pure game of luck that can deliver juicy wins.

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