Keno is a game of pure luck. There's no way of applying strategy to the game or altering its mechanisms in any way. For this reason it is absolutely pivotal that you understand the math behind the keno odds. Once you buy your keno card you cannot back out of the game. Like everything in life, it really pays to prepare before you play.

Something that you need to understand about keno is that it carries an unusually large house edge. Most casino games have a house edge that is 5 percent or lower. Keno is a big exception to the rule because it can carry a house edge of a whopping 20 to 30 percent. Let me explain how the house edge works. A player can expect to win at keno 70 percent of the time. This means that they will money to the casino 30% of the time. Over enough players and enough time, the casino makes 20 to 30 percent profit off of the bets placed at keno. This is actually one of the biggest money makers for the casino, even though Texas Hold ‘em and other poker games receive more attention.

Many people refuse to accept that they face pot odds at keno because of the large jackpots advertised by the casino. Some players think that it is worth their while to spend lots of money trying to get the grand jackpot because the jackpot would pay for all of the bets up to that point. This is an interesting idea, but not mathematically sound. First of all, players are required by the casino to place the maximum number of bets on each cad in order to even be eligible for the large jackpot.If they bet so much as one number less than the maximum, they are disqualified from receiving the full value of the jackpot.

For a variety of reasons, most people do not end up playing the maximum number of spots consistently. The average bet is actually closer to five numbers on a card, so let’s look at the math behind it to see if keno odds can ever work in your favor. With an average five spot bet there is 27% chance that every number on the card will be chosen by the random number generator. This seems like really good odds at first glance, but we need to dig a little deeper if you really want to understand what is going on. While there is a 27% chance that all five numbers will math, there is also a 22% that none of the numbers will match. For the sake of conversation we can round 22% to 25% and say that you will have absolutely nothing in your hand about a quarter of the time.

If you are mathematically inclined, you will have noticed that 27% is actually larger than 22%. According to the bare bones figures in this case, a player would actually walk away with money in their pocket if they were to consistently place a five spot bet. This is completely true. The reason that this does not work out in real life is the indefinable notion of human greed. Very few people have the willpower to consistently bet low knowing that they will not have a chance at the big jackpot. It is just in human nature to aim high, so everyone ends of betting more than five spots eventually. As soon as a player deviates in order to qualify for the jackpot, the keno odds sway back in favor of the house. Enough people bet big that online casino reviews do not have to worry about losing their house edge to small betters.

At this point it may be worthwhile to see if there is any reason to actually try for that huge jackpot. Again, we can turn to math for the solution. Most casinos require that a player matches 14 numbers in order to be fully eligible to receive the jackpot. If you are consistently betting that many slots, there is around 2% chance that you will match half your numbers. I would like for you to notice how dramatically the chances of winning have declined from the more modest five spot bet. To be eligible to get the big jackpot, however, you do need to match every single number. For a 14 spot match, you have about a 1 in 389 million chance of hitting the jackpot. It just doesn’t work out for most people, so there is no need to waste the extra money playing the maximum slots.

The keno odds will always be skewed n favor of the house. This is how all casino games work, so it should not be a surprise to any habitual gamers out there. The best thing to do is to accept the house edge and chalk up your losses to the price of having an enjoyable evening out with friends.

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