While present video keno does not offer do-it-yourself way tickets (except by carefully choosing the tickets on 20-card keno to do basically the same thing as way tickets would do) there are three types of way tickets that are popular in video keno. They are the 15-way, 3-6-9, 2-4-6 and 7-way.
The nice thing about these tickets is you don’t have to figure out the ways. The game does it for you.
The other nice thing is you can play for as low as a nickel a way and in some cases a penny.
The 15-way ticket is basically an 8-spot with four groups of two or 2-2-2-2. This would give you an 8, four 6s, six 4s, and four deuces (groups of two). By the way, catching four deuces solid pays a lot better than four deuces video poker for the same bet. Of course it is harder to do but not impossible.
Hits work as they do in live keno. The return is higher but so is the game speed, thus a good bankroll is suggested. The machine will list your hits for each group and pay you accordingly.
For example, if you hit 2-2-1-1 you will have a 6-of-8, two 5-out-of-6s, two 4-out-of-6s, a solid 4, four 3-of-4s and one 2-of-4. You will have two solid deuces and two 1-of-2s (some places pay on this). If you hit 6-out-of-8 as 2-2-2-0 you will have a solid 6, three solid 4s, and three solid 2s.
The 3-6-9 keno consists of three groups of three, giving you a 3-3-3, which makes a 9, three 6s and three 3s.This game is available for free to members of videopoker.com (free at the basic level).
The 2-4-6 keno ticket consists of three deuces (group of two). The only suit you need to be concerned about is the one you will buy with your 2-2-2 solid hit. This breakdown gives you a 6, three 4s, and three deuces. This game is also available at videopoker.com.
The 7-way game is a little different in that the groups are different sizes. They have you choose a group of 2, 3 and 4 numbers, giving you a 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 – 7 total ways. I like this one the most as it mirrors my playing style more than the others.
Many casinos have their video keno near the keno lounge. (Wonder why this is?) At home you can play around with similar graphics and sound for free at the Basic Level, for a small monthly or annual fee at the Silver and Gold levels at videopoker.com.
There is a free video keno contest from the 1st through the 5th of every month with a top prize of $100. Your play earns points, similar to a slot club though it takes a while to get an award. It is mainly a video poker site but keno is there as well to the limited extent described above.
The good thing is you cannot lose as it is not a gambling site, thus other than membership fees for the higher tiers there is no loss. Let me know your thoughts on how you like video keno as compared to live.
Pesach Kremen is a former UNLV Masters Gaming student, has won and placed in multiple local keno tournaments, and has written several academic papers on keno. Email: [email protected]