Keno Combination Bets

To understand keno probabilities you must first fully understand the combinatorial function. For example, in the Maryland lotto the player picks 6 numbers out of 49. Then the lottery will draw 6 numbers out of 49, without replacement. The player wins the jackpot if all six numbers match (order does not matter). If you don’t know the probability of winning per game is 1 in 13,983,816 then you need to review the combinatorial function before going further.

In keno the casino, or game machine, will draw 20 numbers out of 80, without replacement. Before this happens the player may pick 1 to 15 (or more) numbers. A 'catch' is a number the player picked and was drawn by the casino. A 'miss' is a number of the player picked but was not drawn by the casino. The player is paid according to the number of picks made and catches.

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Although the player picks first the combinations get very huge when calculation the number of ways the casino can match the player’s picks. To start with there are combin(80,20) = 3,535,316,142,212,180,000 ways the casino can draw 20 numbers out of 80. Many calculators don’t support numbers this big. So to keep the combinations smaller we will assume the casino draws first, but keeps the numbers secret, and player tries to match the numbers already drawn. I assure you the math is the same either way.

All the following images were taken from the Luxor keno rulebook. All pays are on a 'for one' basis. In other words the player never gets his original bet back, even if he wins.

1 Spot

Let’s examine the 1 Spot card first. Here the player just picks one number, from 1 to 80. Then the casino will draw 20 numbers. If one of these 20 match the player’s number then the player is paid $3 for a $1 bet.

There are 80 numbers the player can pick. 20 of these will result in a winning ticket. So the probability of winning is 20/80 = ¼. The expected return is thus ¼ * 3 = 75%.

2 Spot

We need to start using the combinatorial function for the 2 Spot card. The player picks 2 numbers and casino must draw both of them for the player to win. There is no consolation prize for only catching one. There are a total of combin(80,2) = 3160 ways the player can draw 2 numbers out of 80. However the player must draw 2 out of the casino’s 20 drawn numbers to win. So there are only combin(20,2) = 190 ways to draw 2 winning numbers. So the probability of winning is 190/3160 = 6.01%. A winning $1 ticket pays $12, so the expected return is (190/3160) * $12 = 72.15%.

Alternatively, the probability the player’s first pick will match one of the casino’s numbers is 20/80. If it does match the probability the second pick will match one of the casino’s other 19 numbers out of 79 is 19/79. So the probability of winning is (20/80)*(19/79) = 6.01%.

3 Spot

Keno combination odds

With the 3 Spot card we start having consolation prizes for not matching every pick. First let’s determine the probability of catching all 3 marks. There are combin(80,3) = 82,160 ways to draw 3 numbers out of 80. To catch all three the player must pick all 3 numbers from the casino’s 20 drawn numbers. There are combin(20,3) = 1140 ways to do this. So the probability of catching all 3 is 1140/82160 = 1.39%.

There is a consolation prize for catching 2 out of 3. Imagine the casino puts the 20 drawn numbers in a winning urn and the other 60 numbers in a losing urn. The number of ways to catch 2 out of 3 is the number of ways to draw 2 balls from the 20 in the winning urn, which is combin(20,2) = 190. The number of ways to draw one losing ball out of 60 is obviously 60. So the number of ways to catch 2 out of 3 is the product of the number of ways to pick 2 winning balls from the winning urn and 1 ball from the losing urn, or 190*60 = 11,400. We already know there are combin(80,3) = 82,160 total ways to draw 3 balls out of 80. So the probability of catching 2 out of 3 is 11,400/82,160 = 13.88%.

For any bet the expected return is the dot product over every possible event of the probability and what it pays. The following table shows every possible outcome, with the total in the bottom row.

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,0)1140$42$47880
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,1)11400$1$11400
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,2)35400$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,3)34220$0$0
Total82160$$59280

The bottom right cell shows that over all 82,160 combinations the player will get back $59,280. So the expected return is 59280/82160 = 72.15%.

4 Spot

For the 4 Spot ticket the number of ways to catch all four is combin(20,4) = 4845. The number of ways to catch 3 and miss one is the product of the number of ways to choose 3 out of 20 and the number of ways to choose 1 out of 60, or combin(20,3) * 60 = 1140*60 = 68,400. The number of ways to catch 2 and miss 2 is the product of the number of watch to choose 2 out of 20 winners and 2 out of 60 losers, or combin(20,2)*combin(60,2) = 190 * 1770 = 336,300. The following table shows all the possible outcomes.

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,0)4845$120$581400
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,1)68400$3$205200
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,2)336300$1$336300
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,3)684400$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,4)487635$0$0
Total1581580$$1122900

The return of the 4 Spot ticket is 1,122,900/1,581,580 = 71.00%.

4 Spot Special

Next, let’s look at the 4 Spot Special. We just worked out all the combinations, so we only need to apply them to a different pay table as follows, based on a $7 ticket.

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,0)4845$1360$6589200
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,1)68400$20$1368000
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,2)336300$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,3)684400$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,4)487635$0$0
Total1581580$$7957200

The expected return of the ticket is 7,957,200/1,581,580 = $5.0312. However we must divide this by $7, the cost of the ticket, to get the expected return, which is $5.0312/$7 = 71.87%. So, if you don’t mind extra volatility, and were going to bet $7 anyway, the 4 Spot Special is a better bet than the regular 4 Spot.

5 Spot

For the rest of the tickets I will present just the return tables. Following is the return table for the 5 Spot.

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,0)15504$800$12403200
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,1)290700$9$2616300
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,2)2017800$1$2017800
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,3)6501800$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,4)9752700$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,5)5461512$0$0
Total24040016$$17037300

5-Spot return = $17,037,300/24,040,016 = 70.87%

6 Spot

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
6combin(20,6)*combin(60,0)38760$1500$58140000
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,1)930240$88$81861120
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,2)8575650$4$34302600
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,3)39010800$1$39010800
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,4)92650650$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,5)109230240$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,6)50063860$0$0
Total300500200$$213314520

6-Spot return = 70.99%

7 Spot

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
7combin(20,7)*combin(60,0)77520$7000$542640000
6combin(20,6)*combin(60,1)2325600$350$813960000
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,2)27442080$20$548841600
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,3)165795900$2$331591800
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,4)555903900$0$0
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,5)1037687280$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,6)1001277200$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,7)386206920$0$0
Total3176716400$$2237033400

The 7-spot has a return of $2237033400/3176716400 = 70.42%

8 Spot

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
8combin(20,8)*combin(60,0)125970$20000$2519400000
7combin(20,7)*combin(60,1)4651200$1500$6976800000
6combin(20,6)*combin(60,2)68605200$90$6174468000
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,3)530546880$9$4774921920
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,4)2362591575$0$0
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,5)6226123680$0$0
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,6)9512133400$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,7)7724138400$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,8)2558620845$0$0
Total28987537150$$20445589920

8-Spot return = $20445589920/28987537150 = 70.53%.

9 Spot

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
9combin(20,9)*combin(60,0)167960$25000$4199000000
8combin(20,8)*combin(60,1)7558200$4000$30232800000
7combin(20,7)*combin(60,2)137210400$300$41163120000
6combin(20,6)*combin(60,3)1326367200$43$57033789600
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,4)7560293040$4$30241172160
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,5)26461025640$0$0
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,6)57072800400$0$0
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,7)73379314800$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,8)51172416900$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,9)14783142660$0$0
Total231900297200$$162869881760

9 Spot Return = 70.23%

10 Spot

For some reason there is a $2 minimum beginning with the 10-spot. Here is the return table for a $2 ticket.

Keno Combination Bets Game

CatchFormulaCombinationsPaysReturn
10combin(20,10)*combin(60,0)184756$50000$9237800000
9combin(20,9)*combin(60,1)10077600$8000$80620800000
8combin(20,8)*combin(60,2)222966900$2000$445933800000
7combin(20,7)*combin(60,3)2652734400$260$689710944000
6combin(20,6)*combin(60,4)18900732600$40$756029304000
5combin(20,5)*combin(60,5)84675282048$4$338701128192
4combin(20,4)*combin(60,6)242559401700$0$0
3combin(20,3)*combin(60,7)440275888800$0$0
2combin(20,2)*combin(60,8)486137960550$0$0
1combin(20,1)*combin(60,9)295662853200$0$0
0combin(20,0)*combin(60,10)75394027566$0$0
Total1646492110120$$2320233776192

The $2 10-spot returns on average $1.4092. So the expected return is $1.4092/2 = 70.46%.

The Luxor keno rule book goes through a pick 15, plus a pick 20. However hopefully you understand how to do the math yourself by now.

PLAY 3®: Play your lucky three-digit number

Play 3 is a daily numbers game in which you pick your favorite 3 digit number, then you choose a bet amount and bet type. You can play your favorite numbers DAY or NIGHT or BOTH.

Play up to seven drawings in advance.

Minimum bet per Play 3 game is 50¢.

Box your number or play it straight!

Check out the Prizes & Odds page for a detailed explanation of each bet type.

Day drawings are Monday – Saturday at 1:58 p.m. Play up to 1:40 p.m.

Keno Combination Bets Poker

Night drawings are seven days a week at 7:57 p.m. Play up to 7:30 p.m.

To play, fill out a playslip:

  1. Mark your drawing time: DAY, NIGHT or BOTH (remember to use blue or black ink or a pencil). No DAY drawing on Sunday.
  2. Mark the number of drawings you want to enter, up to seven. To enter today's drawing only, leave this section blank.
  3. To enter future drawings, mark one or more days, up to a week in advance.
  4. You can play up to five games on each playslip. For each game you want to play, it's as easy ...
  5. Mark three numbers, one in each column, from 0 to 9. (If you play Front Pair, mark the first two columns only. If you play Back Pair, mark the last two columns only.)
  6. If you make a mistake, check the VOID box and use the next game panel; don't erase.
  7. If you want the computer to pick numbers for you, mark the Quick Pick box.
  8. Mark the amount you want to bet: 50¢ or $1.
  9. Mark the bet type you want:
    • Straight: Play any 3-digit number. Must match winning numbers exactly.
    • Box: Play any 3-digit number. Must match winning numbers in any order.
    • Front Pair: Play any 2 digits. First two digits must match winning numbers exactly.
    • Back Pair: Play any 2 digits. Last two digits must match winning numbers exactly.
    • Straight/Box: Combines a 50¢ Straight bet and a 50¢ Box bet for a number on the same ticket. The combined wager is $1.
    • Combination: The same as 3 or 6 Straight bets at 3 or 6 times the wager amount.
    • Check out the Prizes & Odds page for a more detailed explanation of each bet type.
  10. To enter your PLAY 3 bets, give your completed playslip to the Retailer or you may use a PHD terminal.
  11. The computer processes your playslip and issues your tickets. Your Retailer will tell you the total amount. Hold on to your tickets; you'll need them if you win!
  12. Remember to always check your ticket before leaving the Retailer location.
  13. The Lottery reserves the right to limit sales of tickets for bets on any specific number at any time.

Keno Combination Bets Poker

You may also give your selections to the Retailer and they will manually entered them into the Lottery terminal. Always check your ticket before leaving the Retailer location. Tickets for Play 3 may be canceled only if presented before the drawing to the Retailer where it was originally purchased with the exception of tickets produced by a PHD terminal.