Your Handy Guide to the Best Keno Strategy

Before you play keno online or at a live casino, you should have a keno strategy in place. On this page, we’ll introduce your to our top keno tips, including how many numbers to pick and how much to spend on each draw. While not everyone plays the same way, we’ll help you figure out the best keno strategy for your style.

• Introducing Keno Strategy
• How Many Cards to Play
• How Many Numbers to Pick
• Common Keno Number Patterns and Their Rationale
• The Hottest Numbers in Keno
• Bankroll Management in Keno
• Adjusting Strategy for Online vs. Live Play
• Top 5 Keno Tips to Remember
• Are You Ready to Begin Your Keno Adventure?

Introducing Keno Strategy

Right up front, we should make it clear that there’s no way to guarantee success at keno. However, by sticking to a consistent keno strategy, you can craft results that are more to your liking, whether that means hunting jackpots or trying to come out on top in as many sessions as possible.

Before we jump into more advanced topics, it’s important that you are familiar with the basics. If you’ve never learned the rules of keno, be sure to check out our How to Play Keno page to get up to speed first.

Below, we’ll be talking about a few of the main aspects of keno strategy. That includes how many cards you should play at a time, as well as how many spots you’ll want to play and how to pick your numbers. You can then combine that information with our Keno Odds page to get a handle on how to craft your own strategy and play the best games for your approach.

How Many Cards to Play

One way to think about keno strategy is in terms of the number of cards you’re going to play. In live keno venues, you can play as many cards as you want to on each round. Online keno games offer various options; while some versions only have a single card to play on each draw, others allow you to choose the number of cards you fill out before starting a draw.

One popular option is the four-card strategy. As the name suggests, this tactic requires you to play four cards on each draw. Typically, players choose about half of their spots that will remain the same on all four cards. The rest of the spots are different on each set of picks. This allows you to win a big payout if you hit your core numbers, while still giving you some other options that can increase your winnings on particularly lucky cards.

For instance, if you’re playing eight spots, you might pick six core numbers, but only use any four on a given card. Ultimately, you can cover the entire board on at least one card each, leading to a lower-variance, more consistent approach that will pay off huge if a majority of your core spots hit. No matter how many cards you play, however, it’s important to play each for the same amount in order to keep a balanced approach.

How Many Numbers to Pick

It’s possible to craft a keno strategy for any number of spots that you want to pick. It’s reasonable to play as few as one number to have a very consistent approach, or play the minimum number of spots needed to hit a jackpot (often 10 or 12).

But the best keno strategies are usually based around playing somewhere between three and seven numbers. For starters, it’s rare to find a game where the lowest house edge comes from a pay table outside of this range. But there are other reasons why this moderate approach gives you the best chance of victory.

In between two and seven spots gives you an actual opportunity to win a maximum payout, while also providing for some solid secondary payouts if you match fewer numbers. The above card strategies also allow you to focus on some core numbers with a little variation here and there when you pick this range of spots. Playing too few numbers means you can’t really use repeating numbers at all, while using too many means you’ll never cover enough of the card to achieve consistency outside of that core.

Common Keno Number Patterns and Their Rationale

The truth of keno is that there are no secret patterns to discover: all numbers are equally likely to be picked on any given draw. But that hasn’t stopped players from trying to find common patterns that they can incorporate into their keno strategy. A few of the most common patterns are as follows:

• Hot Numbers: This approach plays numbers that have been coming up a lot lately. Some players also like going in the opposite direction, playing cold numbers they feel are due.
• Consecutive Numbers: In this strategy, players pick strings of numbers in a row on the card, such as 1-5. Many players then cover additional segments to have coverage of as much of the card as possible, playing groups like 6-10 and 11-15 to cover full columns, rows, or other segments.
• Lucky Numbers: This is about the simplest idea possible. While it hardly qualifies as a keno strategy, many players focus on birthdays, anniversaries, ages, or other lucky numbers to fill out their cards.
• Top Half 6: This keno strategy has been spread online and gained popularity. It requires you to pick the same six number positions from each of the top four rows, such as 1-6, 11-16, 21-26, and 31-36.
• 4×5 Corners: This strategy has players play four groups of five numbers in each corner of the card, mixing and matching corners on various cards. The traditional picks are 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20, 21, 30, 51, 60, 61, 62, 69, 70, 71, 72, 79 and 80.

The Hottest Numbers in Keno

Are there numbers that come up more often than others in keno? Some players say so, with one common list saying that 1, 2, 4, 23, 27, 34, 45, 40, 50, 65 and 72 are the most common draws.

However, other lists are also floating around, and we have no idea where this data ultimately comes from. Nobody has a complete record of all keno ever played, and even the “hottest” numbers in these lists come up about 25.6% of the time, barely more than the 25% per number that chance would dictate. Ultimately, all numbers in keno are chosen randomly, and no good keno strategy relies on hot numbers to win.

Bankroll Management in Keno

As with any casino game, the best keno strategy is one that takes bankroll management into account. No matter how lucky you get, it’s easy to lose all of your money if you’re exceeding your budget and putting yourself in a position where any round could be your last.

How large your bankroll needs to be depends on your style of play. If you’re playing fewer numbers or a large number of cards that cover most of the spots on the board, then you may be able to play for a long time with as few as 20-30 times your cost per round. On the other hand, if you’re playing for a jackpot by picking unique cards of 8-10 spots, it may take as many as 50-100 units to feel safe even for a single night of play.

Do be aware that you don’t have to go too much higher than those numbers. While it’s smart to bet small, you can bet a bit more per card – potentially increasing your winnings as well – if you have the budget to cover it.

As you become a more experienced player, you may be able to adjust your bankroll requirements accordingly. You can use your past experience – and your knowledge of the house edge in various keno casino games – to craft a bankroll strategy that best balances risk and reward for your style of play.

Adjusting Strategy for Online vs. Live Play

While keno strategy should work no matter where you play, there are a few adjustments you can make when playing keno online vs. playing in a live venue.

When playing in a brick-and-mortar casino, there will probably only be one game to choose from with a few betting options. However, you’ll want to keep a keen eye for any additional jackpot bets or other special options that may be offered. Most of these side bets aren’t worthwhile, but occasionally they can be quite lucrative, especially when there are progressive jackpots available.

Top 5 Keno Tips to Remember

Want a recap of the advice on this page? We’ve boiled down our best keno tips into the five pieces of advice below.

1. Seek Out the Best Odds Possible: Don’t assume that all keno games are exactly the same. Look for the top keno odds with the best payouts in order to get the most out of each time you pick the winning numbers. You can familiarize yourself with keno odds in more detail with our handy guide.
2. Choose Your Number of Cards Carefully: Are you looking to reduce variance? Playing a large number of cards that covers most of the board will get the job done. On the other hand, if you want a more casual pace of play with jackpot potential, play just one or two cards with a lot of unique spots.
3. Play Online at Reputable Sites: Online keno games often have far better payouts than their brick-and-mortar counterparts, but it’s important to play at casinos you can trust. Take a look at our page covering the best online casinos in order to find a site that works for you.
4. Practice Smart Bankroll Management: Even in the safest forms of play, keno is a game with high variance. That means it’s important to play at stakes that can absorb long losing streaks, giving you as many chances as possible to snag the rare big payouts keno provides.
5. Pick Any Numbers You Want: There’s a lot of talk out there about how choosing the right numbers is an important part of your keno strategy. We’re here to tell you the numbers that get picked each round are completely random – feel free to start with any numbers you like.

Are You Ready to Begin Your Keno Adventure?

We hope we’ve shown you that with the right keno strategy, it’s simple to enjoy this casino classic and give yourself a good chance of winning in the process. By sticking to the tops above, you can jump into any keno casino, play well, and have a great time.

One of the best ways to start is by playing keno online. The easiest way to get started is to choose one of our recommended casinos that offers no deposit bonuses to new players. These no deposit offers will let you try out your best keno strategy without risking any of your own funds, while still giving you a chance to win real money!