Frequently keno players want to hit a certain number of spots solid. With the long odds this seems quite difficult but it need not be. Using king tickets the odds can be reduced considerably. Of course you pay for this privilege by playing more ways and spending more, but if successful the reward is well worth the additional outlay.
I have a fondness for 7 spots because in several of the downtown Las Vegas casinos and a few other places a 7 can pay up to $14,000 for an 80-cent ticket or $17,500 for a $1 ticket. The 8s in these casinos usually pay only about two to three times as much but are six times harder to hit.
This makes the 7 a very good play, even at odd of 40,978 to 1. However, the odds can be sharply reduced by playing 8 kings and playing the eight 7s this entails.
As reference a king is a single number group circled. If you have eight of them you have eight ways of making a 7, just take away a different one of the eight numbers for each 7-spot ticket.
Since many of our readers play lower level bets, let’s use the pay book from The D, called the Deano rate, advertised on the brochure as “Simply The Best Special Rate Ever.”
This is not advertising hype, this pay table returns about 85%, about 10% better than comparable downtown tickets and 15% better than comparable Strip tickets.
Let’s check out the 7-spot for 40 cents. If you catch 3 you get half your money back, 20 cents. This may not seem a lot but in a cycle of 40,979 plays (average number of plays to hit a solid 7 spot) you will hit 3 out of 7 about every seven games, thus it adds up. Catch 4 and you get your bet back, 40 cent; catch 5, get $7; catch 6, get $70 and catch all 7 (solid) you get $7,000.
To play the eight 7s at 40 cents would cost you $2.80, but if you want to risk less (of course the reward will be proportionately less) this rate allows 10-cent way as long as you spend at least 40 cents a game and $4 per ticket. If you play eight 7s at 10 cents a way, costing 80 cents per game, and play five games you would meet the minimum requirements.
You can spend an additional dime (you could ride the subway in NYC a ways back for that or make a phone call for a dime) and cover the single 8-spot. As reference, 4 out of 8 pays your dime back, 5 out of 8 pays 75 cents, 6 out of 8 pays $7.50, 7 out of 8 pays $175 and a solid 8 pays $2,500 for your dime.
Adjusting the 7-spot pays for a dime bet, 3 out of 7 pays a nickel, 4 out of 7 pays your dime back, 5 out of 7 pays $1.75, 6 out of 7 pays $17.50, and a solid 7 pays $1,750.
I prefer to play just the 7s as if you hit 8 of them you would still win $14,000 for your 80-cent bet. Now lets see what happens when you play.
Should you hit no spots, a single spot, or just two spots, better luck next time. Hit three or more and you have a few 3 of 7s; hit four or more you have 4 and 3 of 7s; hit five or more than you have 5 of 7s and 4 of 7s, and it goes on as you hit more of your number.
Thus, let’s say at 10 cents a way you hit seven of your eight numbers. If you are playing the 8 you would have 7 of 8. You will have a solid 7 and seven 6 of 7s as well.
This is the true power of the all king ticket. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!
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