Keno Odds: What Are Your Chances Really?
Keno looks simple but has one of the highest house edges in the casino. The probabilities explained.
Reviewed by the Casinokeller editorial team · Editorial policy
Keno is a number game similar to the lottery: you pick numbers and the game draws 20 from 80. The more of your numbers hit, the bigger the prize. The maths is less friendly than it looks.
The basic chance. With 20 of 80 numbers drawn, the chance a single chosen number is included is 20/80 = 25 %.
More numbers, smaller chance of hitting all. Picking 2 numbers, you hit both about 6 % of the time. With 5 numbers, the chance of all five is around 0.06 %. Ten out of ten is about 1 in 8.9 million.
The house edge. Depending on the pay table, casino keno often carries a house edge between 5 % and over 25 %. That makes it one of the most expensive games, well above roulette or blackjack.
Lucky numbers and patterns. Every draw is random and independent. Birthdays, patterns on the ticket or long-absent numbers do not change the probability.
Read the pay table. The key step before playing: check the payouts for each number of hits and compare variants. Small differences in the table change the payout rate a lot.
Bottom line. Keno is simple and fun but mathematically expensive. If you play, keep stakes small and know you are paying a high price for entertainment.