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casino Keno bad bet?

Discussion in 'Casino Gaming' started by Gomar, Apr 28, 2014.

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  1. Gomar

    Gomar Low-Roller

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    Why do all gambling websites hate Keno? All say house has highest edge, low odds and payouts, etc.

    from:
    http://www.casinogamblingstrategy.org/keno/
    "The house edge on a keno bet is between 20% and 35%. That's an astronomical number when you compare it with the 0.5% house edge on a blackjack or video poker bet."

    http://www.wikihow.com/Win-Keno
    says to stay away from Keno.

    In fact, I have done the math and odds and see nothing wrong with Keno.

    I play NY Quick Draw often, especially on +%50 days. The game compares fairly well with NY Numbers, Win4, Take5.
    Numbers: $1 box 835 wins $80 for 1:167 odds.
    $1 straight wins $500 for 1:1000 odds. ok, not bad as odds/payout = 1/2.
    However, if you have 825 you get bubkas.

    In fact, I have just written out all 000-999 on Numbers cards, for a total of $500, so a $3 combo wins $250, losing
    $250. $1 each game = $1000 winning $500. So either way you lose if playing all possible numbers.
    Thus, you win only if playing $1 on 1/4 of all numbers for $250 hoping to win $500.

    Ifcourse, I could bet $100 on a straight to win $50,000 for 1:1000 instead of Take5 1:575757. Also, T5 winnings are shared, and 2nd prize often goes above $600 so you pay a tax.
    Win4 is often won on $10 straight, $5k x 10.

    QD: $1 2 spot wins $10 for 1:16.7 odds; same as above.
    3 spot 2 chances, $1/2 = 0.50-line. Thus, if $23x2 = $46 for 1:71 odds that's better than above.
    4 spot 3 chances $1/3 = 0.33, making $55 for 1:325 better than Take5.

    I get either 10 or 20 draws of 2,3,4,7,9 spots. Anything I lose on more spots is made up by winnings on less spots. I see no sense in playing 1,5,6,8,10 spots.
    7 spots I get $50 on 5 draws, so that if I hit all 7 spots $5000x10 = $50,000.
    In the casinos I play multi-draw Keno, 26 cards, and I always win something. I try to keep winnings below tax rate, so I only play 1-4 spots. On 9 spots I always get %50+ back of my bet.
     
  2. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    First, before everybody starts chiming in: there are 2 kenos in Las Vegas. There is the live keno (played in a keno lounge or at the coffee shop) and video keno which is single player and plays on a slot machine or multi game setup like "Game King"

    Video Keno has a decent payback, usually up around 95% and is often comparable to playing dollar slots.

    Live Keno is one that all the websites warn players to stay away from because the house edge is so high (usually 20-30% house edge). Comparing the numbers to your local lottery program and saying they seem comparable doesn't mean that its "good" more that just says your local lottery has a similarly high house edge.
     
  3. TableToddyy

    TableToddyy VIP Whale

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    The only time I used to play live keno. Was at a restaurant or buffet. Liked the fact I could gamble while at a sit down dinner. But haven't seen a keno runner in vegas in a couple years. Anybody seen one lately?
     
  4. woodsie

    woodsie VIP Whale

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    Golden Nugget had them in their Cafe as of last summer but if I recall correctly, they closed the cafe down and are renovating it.

    It's a bummer because while live Keno is poor gambling, it's a good diversion with breakfast.
     
  5. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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    I am not a big Keno fan at all ... but when we are spending a few hours at the California playing video poker, I will sometimes try one of their live Keno specials.

    Pick 8 numbers @ 40 cents/game, for a 25 game card ($10). I then go back to my video poker for a couple hours, and hope that I get a lucky hit on that Keno card. I usually just get a couple bucks back, but no big winners yet ....
     
  6. Minnesota3

    Minnesota3 Tourist

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    Yes, live keno has a bad rate of return, but the game moves relatively slowly and passes time well with a chance of winning big money. I play it at The Orleans in Las Vegas and the drink service is always very good also. I also enjoy low denomination video keno. Look for games that pay back 100 coins on 4/4 and 838 coins on 5/5. They are almost 95% payback games. Some games pay 91 on 4/4 and 810 on 5/5. They are about 92% payback. The lower paytable on video keno pays 77 on 4/4 and only 750 on 5/5. That only pays back 88%.
     
  7. Gomar

    Gomar Low-Roller

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    I played 9 spots $10 10 games, won $7.

    But, if Keno has bad pay back, how does it compare to other games, such as Numbers, Win4, Take5?
    Scratch cards have good payback, $20 has $100 1:38.
     
  8. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    Keno in Las Vegas casinos typically has a 25-30% house edge... according to the NY state lottery page Win4 and Take5 both have a 50% house edge.

    I know you love your state lottery games but in almost every jurisdiction in North American that has a government lottery the house edges start at 30%

    Again going back to the NY state lottery website: according to their published records in 2013 of the money they took in from all combined lottery and game sales they only paid out 47% of it in prizes. So for every buck they take in they are giving out 47 cents as a prize...

    You can't really base how good the payback is off of one prize. In this case a 1 in 38 chance to win 5x your wager is representative of 13% of the total payback of that scratch card. The way everything looks I would suspect that the scratch cards are going to have a 50% total payback as well... so comparable to the rest of the lottery games.
     
  9. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    Keno was always a fun thing to do while eating, give a buck or two to the runner for each game and watch the board light up. Horrible odds of course.
     
  10. wpete

    wpete High-Roller

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    One time we played while eating a very late meal at the San Remo. My wife picked the numbers, 20 of them. The numbers were being called and I heard her saying 'nope....nope....nope....' After many nopes I asked if she had any at all, nope was the reply. I then asked what's the payout if she gets none of the numbers called. It ended up being $10,000. But of course, the last number called was one she picked, which got her 10 bucks.

    Now, the conspiracy theory. It was late, about midnight. There were only a few people eating at the diner and not sure if any were actually playing keno except for us.
     
  11. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Ahhhhhh Keno... I took my wife to the Carson Nugget Steakhouse for her 21st birthday, we each picked a couple numbers (I don't remember exactly) and won $120.00. That was big money for a young married couple in 1984. Paid for a great dinner and I'm sure the balance was lost in the slots later on that night.

    I know that many of the staff at the Hard Rock swear by video-keno. As soon as their shift ends, a lot of them sit and play with their tips and unwind.
     
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