the rules of keno

Keno in the U.S. traces back to Chinese immigrants who helped build America's historically treasured Old West railroad. This ancient Chinese game was apparently invented by Cheung Leung around 200 B.C. as a way to raise money for a war fund. The game was so successful that it apparently was also used to fund the building of the Great Wall.

The early versions of Keno used characters on the body of the ticket, rather than numbers 1 through 80. Those characters were the first eighty of a well-known poem called "The Thousand Character Classic", which was used to teach reading and writing to children.

Keno is a thrilling game that was first introduced in China around 200B.C. It came to the United States with the immigrants and over time evolved into the game you now see before you.

The Keno game is played with a traditional 80-numbered ticket and 20 balls whose function is the same as in a standard lottery. The player marks from 1 to 15 spots on the ticket and is paid according to the numbers that roll out on the balls and the bet he or she chose.

The five different ways to bet on a Keno ticket are discussed below. After each game you may choose to stay with the same spots you played (by clicking on REPEAT button) or pick new spots on the ticket. Different betting options are enabled as you place your marks, however you may not mark more than 15 spots on any one game.

"Bet"
Option is enabled once you mark at least one spot on the Keno ticket. You are paid if one or more of the numbers you chose roll out on the balls. The following is a sample payoff tables for a $1.00 bet.

"Bet Against"
This option is enabled once you have marked at least 8 spots on the tickets. You are betting that none of the numbers you select show up on the balls. You are paid only if none of the numbers come up. The following is a sample payoff table for a $1.00 bet.

"Catch All"
This option can be played with 2 to 7 spots marked on the ticket. You are betting that you will catch all the numbers that you selected. You will be paid only if all the numbers you chose show up. The following is a sample payoff for a $1.00 bet.

"High Roller"
Option is enabled once you mark at least one spot on the Keno ticket. This option is played almost like the "Straight Bet" but the payoff is on a different schedule where you have to catch more spots in order to get paid, but the payoff is greater.

"Top or Bottom"
This is the only option that is enabled as soon as you start the game before you mark the ticket. You only need to place your bet to be able to use this option. You are betting that top or bottom part of the ticket will have fewer spots than the opposite part. The payoff depends on how great that difference is. The following is a sample payoff for a $1.00 bet.

Tips & Strategies: Keno

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