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Keno Draw Poker

Introduction

Keno Draw Poker is a combination of keno and video poker I noticed at the Red Rock casino on December 18, 2012. The game plays like conventional multi-play video poker, with the addition of an optional keno draw. Keno wins pay in both flat wins and multiplier on the outcome of the video poker hand.

For video poker games with a base return of about 99%, playing the keno feature adds about 0.5% to the total return.

Rules

  1. The machine at the Red Rock was all based on triple-play video poker.
  2. The player has the option to play normal video poker, make an extra 5-credit keno bet, or place an extra 10-credit keno bet. The extra bet option was only available if the player also made a full 15-credit video poker bet (five credits for each of three lines).
  3. If the player enables the keno bet, then any win is both on a flat win and a multiplier, to be applied to any video poker win.

Example

In the game above, I bet a total of 20 credits: 15 on the video poker and 5 on the keno. I previously chose seven keno numbers. Four of them hit, which paid an immediate two credits, plus a 2x video poker multiplier.

For just the video poker, I would have normally won 25 credits (20 for the four of a kind and 5 for the three of a kind). However, the poker multiplier doubled this to 50. Including the 2 for the keno only win, my total return was 50+2 = 52 credits.

Pay Tables

The following table shows the keno wins for a 5-credit keno bet.
 

Keno Win for 5-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 24 4 2            
3   100 7 10 6 1      
4     120 35 8 2 4 2  
5       2100 150 30 25 10 10
6         3000 600 225 85 50
7           10000 3000 700 300
8             20000 10000 2000
9               20000 9000
10                 20000


The following table shows the poker multipliers for a 5-credit keno bet.
 

Poker Multiplier Win for 5-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 5 2 2            
3   6 2 2 2 2      
4     4 7 3 2 2 2  
5       7 9 4 7 3 3
6         9 4 9 7 9
7           4 9 7 9
8             9 7 9
9               7 9
10                 9


The following table shows the keno wins for a 10-credit keno bet.
 

Keno Win for 10-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 77 16 10            
3   250 30 20 15 5      
4     540 70 25 10 12 5  
5       4500 400 135 75 25 25
6         8750 2475 575 250 125
7           30000 8400 2050 800
8             50000 25000 5000
9               50000 20000
10                 50000


The following table shows the poker multipliers for a 10-credit keno bet.
 

Poker Multiplier Win for 10-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 7 2 2            
3   12 3 3 2 2      
4     12 12 7 2 3 2  
5       12 12 12 8 6 5
6         12 12 12 12 12
7           12 12 12 12
8             12 12 12
9               12 12
10                 12

 

Analysis

The following table shows the expected keno win for a 5-credit keno bet according to the number of keno balls picked and caught.
 

Expected Keno Win for a 5-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 1.443038 0.555015 0.425271            
3   1.387537 0.302735 0.839351 0.778917 0.174993      
4     0.367607 0.423232 0.228303 0.104382 0.326015 0.228210  
5       1.354342 0.464346 0.259155 0.457565 0.326015  
6         0.386955 0.439246 0.532511 0.486162  
7           0.244026 0.481365 0.414175  
8             0.086913 0.325925  
9               0.014486  
10                  
Total 1.443038 1.942551 1.095613 2.616924 1.858521 1.221802 1.884369 1.794973  


The following table shows the expected poker multiplier win for a 5-credit keno bet according to the number of keno balls picked and caught.
 

Expected Poker Multiplier for a 5-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
0 0.560127 0.416504 0.308321 0.227184 0.166602 0.121574 0.088266 0.063748 0.045791
1 0.379747 0.430867 0.432732 0.405686 0.363495 0.315193 0.266464 0.220666 0.179571
2 0.300633 0.277507 0.425271 0.270457 0.308321 0.326654 0.328146 0.316426 0.295257
3   0.083252 0.086496 0.167870 0.259639 0.349986 0.214786 0.246109 0.267402
4     0.012254 0.084646 0.085614 0.104382 0.163007 0.228210 0.147319
5       0.004514 0.027861 0.034554 0.128118 0.097804 0.154283
6         0.001161 0.002928 0.021300 0.040037 0.103315
7           0.000098 0.001444 0.004142 0.014500
8             0.000039 0.000228 0.001219
9               0.000005 0.000055
10                 0.000001
Total 1.240506 1.208130 1.265074 1.160359 1.212692 1.255369 1.211571 1.217375 1.208713


The following table shows the expected keno win for a 10-credit keno bet according to the number of keno balls picked and caught.
 

Expected Keno Win for a 10-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
2 4.629747 2.220058 2.126355            
3   3.468841 1.297437 1.678701 1.947293 0.874966      
4     1.654232 0.846464 0.713448 0.521910 0.978044 0.570526  
5       2.902161 1.238255 1.166198 1.372694 0.815037 1.285692
6         1.128618 1.811890 1.360860 1.429889 1.434924
7           0.732077 1.347823 1.212941 1.288914
8             0.217283 0.814811 0.677097
9               0.036214 0.122413
10                 0.005611
Total 4.629747 5.688900 5.078023 5.427326 5.027615 5.107040 5.276705 4.879418 4.814651


The following table shows the expected poker multiplier win for a 10-credit keno bet according to the number of keno balls picked and caught.
 

Expected Poker Multiplier Win for a 10-Credit Keno Bet

Catch Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
0 0.560127 0.416504 0.308321 0.227184 0.166602 0.121574 0.088266 0.063748 0.045791
1 0.379747 0.430867 0.432732 0.405686 0.363495 0.315193 0.266464 0.220666 0.179571
2 0.420886 0.277507 0.425271 0.270457 0.308321 0.326654 0.328146 0.316426 0.295257
3   0.166504 0.129744 0.251805 0.259639 0.349986 0.214786 0.246109 0.267402
4     0.036761 0.145108 0.199765 0.104382 0.244511 0.228210 0.147319
5       0.007739 0.037148 0.103662 0.146421 0.195609 0.257138
6         0.001548 0.008785 0.028401 0.068635 0.137753
7           0.000293 0.001925 0.007100 0.019334
8             0.000052 0.000391 0.001625
9               0.000009 0.000073
10                 0.000001
Total 1.360759 1.291383 1.332829 1.307980 1.336518 1.330529 1.318972 1.346903 1.351265


The following table shows the return for both the 5-credit and 10-credit keno bets, assuming the video poker had a return of 100%.
 

Expected Keno Win for a 5-Credit Keno Bet

Keno Bet Pick-2 Pick-3 Pick-4 Pick-5 Pick-6 Pick-7 Pick-8 Pick-9 Pick-10
5 1.010127 1.012902 1.014343 1.004461 1.009781 1.010468 1.011588 1.011121 1.006090
10 1.004114 1.005964 1.007045 1.004703 1.007538 1.006498 1.006129 1.008296 1.008362


The following table shows the return for the video poker games available on Keno Draw Poker, according to number of keno balls chosen (2 to 5) for a 5-credit keno bet, assuming optimal video poker strategy. The column for 0 picks refers to playing video poker only.
 

Expected Returns for a 5-Credit Keno Bet — Pick 2 to 5

Game Pay Table Pick
0 2 3 4 5
Jacks or Better 7/5 96.147% 96.669% 96.832% 96.703% 96.759%
Jacks or Better 8/5 97.298% 97.740% 97.875% 97.795% 97.760%
Jacks or Better 9/5 98.450% 98.811% 98.918% 98.888% 98.762%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7/5 96.253% 96.767% 96.927% 96.803% 96.850%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/5 97.401% 97.835% 97.968% 97.893% 97.850%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 9/5 98.550% 98.904% 99.008% 98.982% 98.849%
Bonus Poker 20/6/5 96.049% 96.577% 96.743% 96.610% 96.673%
Bonus Poker 20/7/5 97.195% 97.644% 97.781% 97.697% 97.671%
Bonus Poker 20/8/5 98.346% 98.715% 98.824% 98.790% 98.672%
Double Bonus 9/6/4 96.375% 96.881% 97.038% 96.920% 96.957%
Double Bonus 10/6/4 97.461% 97.891% 98.022% 97.950% 97.902%
Double Bonus 10/7/4 98.814% 99.149% 99.247% 99.233% 99.079%
Double Double Bonus 45/8/5/3 95.595% 96.155% 96.331% 96.179% 96.278%
Double Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.873% 98.274% 98.395% 98.340% 98.260%
Double Double Bonus 9/6/4 98.981% 99.305% 99.399% 99.392% 99.225%
Triple Double Bonus 8/5/4 95.969% 96.503% 96.670% 96.534% 96.603%
Triple Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.020% 97.481% 97.623% 97.532% 97.518%
Triple Double Bonus 9/7/3 98.461% 98.821% 98.928% 98.898% 98.772%
Deuces Wild 25/15/9/4/3/3/2/1 96.343% 96.851% 97.009% 96.889% 96.929%
Deuces Wild 25/15/6/4/4/3/2/1 97.639% 98.056% 98.183% 98.118% 98.056%
Deuces Wild 25/15/8/4/4/3/2/1 98.445% 98.807% 98.914% 98.883% 98.759%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/2/1/1 96.218% 96.735% 96.896% 96.770% 96.820%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/10/4/3/3/1/1 97.364% 97.801% 97.934% 97.858% 97.818%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/3/1/1 98.284% 98.656% 98.767% 98.730% 98.618%


The following table shows the return for the same video poker games according to number of keno balls chosen (6 to 10) for a 10-credit keno bet, assuming optimal video poker strategy.
 

Expected Returns for a 5-Credit Keno Bet — Pick 6 to 10

Game Pay Table Pick
6 7 8 9 10
Jacks or Better 7/5 96.740% 96.634% 96.789% 96.760% 96.660%
Jacks or Better 8/5 97.787% 97.718% 97.835% 97.811% 97.703%
Jacks or Better 9/5 98.835% 98.802% 98.881% 98.863% 98.747%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7/5 96.836% 96.733% 96.885% 96.857% 96.755%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/5 97.881% 97.815% 97.928% 97.905% 97.796%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 9/5 98.925% 98.896% 98.972% 98.954% 98.837%
Bonus Poker 20/6/5 96.651% 96.542% 96.700% 96.671% 96.571%
Bonus Poker 20/7/5 97.693% 97.621% 97.741% 97.717% 97.610%
Bonus Poker 20/8/5 98.740% 98.705% 98.787% 98.768% 98.653%
Double Bonus 9/6/4 96.948% 96.849% 96.996% 96.969% 96.866%
Double Bonus 10/6/4 97.936% 97.871% 97.983% 97.960% 97.851%
Double Bonus 10/7/4 99.165% 99.145% 99.212% 99.195% 99.077%
Double Double Bonus 45/8/5/3 96.238% 96.114% 96.287% 96.256% 96.159%
Double Double Bonus 9/5/4 98.310% 98.259% 98.357% 98.336% 98.224%
Double Double Bonus 9/6/4 99.318% 99.302% 99.364% 99.347% 99.228%
Triple Double Bonus 8/5/4 96.578% 96.466% 96.627% 96.597% 96.498%
Triple Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.535% 97.456% 97.582% 97.558% 97.451%
Triple Double Bonus 9/7/3 98.845% 98.812% 98.891% 98.873% 98.757%
Deuces Wild 25/15/9/4/3/3/2/1 96.919% 96.819% 96.967% 96.939% 96.837%
Deuces Wild 25/15/6/4/4/3/2/1 98.097% 98.038% 98.144% 98.122% 98.012%
Deuces Wild 25/15/8/4/4/3/2/1 98.831% 98.798% 98.877% 98.859% 98.743%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/2/1/1 96.805% 96.701% 96.853% 96.825% 96.724%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/10/4/3/3/1/1 97.847% 97.780% 97.895% 97.872% 97.763%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/3/1/1 98.683% 98.646% 98.730% 98.711% 98.596%


The following table shows the return for various common video poker games according to number of keno balls chosen (2 to 5) for a 10-credit keno bet, assuming optimal video poker strategy. The column for 0 picks refers to playing video poker only.
 

Expected Returns for a 10-Credit Keno Bet — Pick 2 to 5

Game Pay Table Pick
0 2 3 4 5
Jacks or Better 7/5 96.147% 97.019% 97.253% 97.201% 97.164%
Jacks or Better 8/5 97.298% 97.959% 98.145% 98.121% 98.068%
Jacks or Better 9/5 98.450% 98.899% 99.037% 99.042% 98.972%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7/5 96.253% 97.105% 97.335% 97.285% 97.247%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/5 97.401% 98.043% 98.225% 98.203% 98.148%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 9/5 98.550% 98.980% 99.115% 99.122% 99.050%
Bonus Poker 20/6/5 96.049% 96.939% 97.177% 97.122% 97.088%
Bonus Poker 20/7/5 97.195% 97.874% 98.065% 98.039% 97.987%
Bonus Poker 20/8/5 98.346% 98.814% 98.957% 98.959% 98.890%
Double Bonus 9/6/4 96.375% 97.205% 97.430% 97.383% 97.344%
Double Bonus 10/6/4 97.461% 98.092% 98.271% 98.252% 98.196%
Double Bonus 10/7/4 98.814% 99.196% 99.319% 99.333% 99.257%
Double Double Bonus 45/8/5/3 95.595% 96.568% 96.826% 96.759% 96.731%
Double Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.873% 98.428% 98.590% 98.581% 98.519%
Double Double Bonus 9/6/4 98.981% 99.332% 99.449% 99.467% 99.388%
Triple Double Bonus 8/5/4 95.969% 96.873% 97.115% 97.058% 97.024%
Triple Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.020% 97.732% 97.930% 97.899% 97.850%
Triple Double Bonus 9/7/3 98.461% 98.908% 99.046% 99.051% 98.980%
Deuces Wild 25/15/9/4/3/3/2/1 96.343% 97.179% 97.405% 97.358% 97.318%
Deuces Wild 25/15/6/4/4/3/2/1 97.639% 98.237% 98.409% 98.393% 98.335%
Deuces Wild 25/15/8/4/4/3/2/1 98.445% 98.895% 99.034% 99.039% 98.968%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/2/1/1 96.218% 97.077% 97.308% 97.258% 97.220%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/10/4/3/3/1/1 97.364% 98.013% 98.196% 98.174% 98.120%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/3/1/1 98.284% 98.763% 98.909% 98.909% 98.841%


The following table shows the return for various common video poker games according to number of keno balls chosen (6 to 10) for a 10-credit keno bet, assuming optimal video poker strategy.
 

Expected Returns for a 10-Credit Keno Bet — Pick 6 to 10

Game Pay Table Pick
6 7 8 9 10
Jacks or Better 7/5 97.212% 97.184% 97.196% 97.218% 97.211%
Jacks or Better 8/5 98.135% 98.103% 98.107% 98.149% 98.144%
Jacks or Better 9/5 99.058% 99.022% 99.018% 99.079% 99.078%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 7/5 97.296% 97.268% 97.280% 97.303% 97.296%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 8/5 98.217% 98.185% 98.188% 98.231% 98.227%
Bonus Poker Deluxe 9/5 99.138% 99.102% 99.097% 99.160% 99.158%
Bonus Poker 20/6/5 97.133% 97.106% 97.119% 97.139% 97.131%
Bonus Poker 20/7/5 98.052% 98.021% 98.025% 98.065% 98.060%
Bonus Poker 20/8/5 98.975% 98.940% 98.936% 98.995% 98.994%
Double Bonus 9/6/4 97.395% 97.366% 97.377% 97.403% 97.396%
Double Bonus 10/6/4 98.266% 98.233% 98.236% 98.280% 98.276%
Double Bonus 10/7/4 99.350% 99.313% 99.306% 99.373% 99.373%
Double Double Bonus 45/8/5/3 96.769% 96.743% 96.759% 96.772% 96.763%
Double Double Bonus 9/5/4 98.596% 98.562% 98.562% 98.613% 98.610%
Double Double Bonus 9/6/4 99.484% 99.446% 99.439% 99.508% 99.508%
Triple Double Bonus 8/5/4 97.069% 97.042% 97.055% 97.074% 97.066%
Triple Double Bonus 9/5/4 97.912% 97.881% 97.887% 97.924% 97.919%
Triple Double Bonus 9/7/3 99.067% 99.031% 99.027% 99.088% 99.087%
Deuces Wild 25/15/9/4/3/3/2/1 97.369% 97.341% 97.351% 97.377% 97.370%
Deuces Wild 25/15/6/4/4/3/2/1 98.408% 98.375% 98.376% 98.423% 98.420%
Deuces Wild 25/15/8/4/4/3/2/1 99.055% 99.019% 99.015% 99.075% 99.074%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/2/1/1 97.269% 97.241% 97.252% 97.276% 97.268%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/10/4/3/3/1/1 98.188% 98.156% 98.159% 98.202% 98.198%
Deuces Wild Bonus Poker 20/12/4/3/3/1/1 98.925% 98.890% 98.887% 98.945% 98.943%

The following formulas show the general formula for the return of the game with the keno bet, according to the return of the base game, for the best viable bet choices.

  • 5-credit keno (pick 6): 0.094353 + (0.909519 × base return).
  • 10-credit keno (pick 10): 0.192586 + (0.810759 × base return).
  • 10-credit keno (pick 9): 0.195177 + (0.808142 × base return).
  • 10-credit keno (pick 3): 0.227556 + (0.774830 × base return).

Advice

  1. Play the best pay table you can find.
  2. If the base game pays 98.983% or over, then bet 10 coins on the keno and pick 10 numbers.
  3. Otherwise, if the base game pays 97.200% to 98.983%, then bet 10 coins on the keno and pick 9 numbers.
  4. Otherwise, if the base game pays 97.200% or less, then bet 10 coins on the keno and pick 3 numbers.
  5. Play your cards according to conventional video poker strategy.

Acknowledgement

I'd like to thank Chris Brune of IGT for his review of the accuracy of this page and for the list of available pay tables for Keno Draw Poker.