Keno is said to have originated in
China at around 200 BC. It is said to have come from a Chinese poem entitled
called "The Thousand Character Classic." If in a classic lottery people bet
on numbers, in the original Keno players bet on characters. These characters
were inspired from the poem and have fun sounding character names such as
'Dew', 'Cloud,' 'Stupid Loser' and many others.
It is believed that Keno was invented to raise funds for building the Great
Wall of China and for the expeditions of the Chinese army. Keno began with
as many as 120 characters being used. Before it left its homeland, it was
reduced to only about 90 characters.
At around the 19th century Keno arrived at the shores of America through the
waves of Chinese immigrants. At that time, the Keno characters were reduced
to only 80 characters.
Through the years, Keno remained a popular game especially with Chinese
immigrants. Despite the fact that it was illegal, Keno continued to grow
especially in cities like San Francisco.
Soon thereafter, the game of Keno became known as the Chinese lottery. At
around the 20th century Americans became interested in the game but because
the characters were Chinese, many did not understand it. Therefore, the
characters were changed to Arabic numbers to lure more players.
The name of Keno or Chinese Lottery was changed to Race Horse Keno to get
around the fact that lottery was illegal at that time. Each number is
believed to be a horse and the game as a race.
The US government, however, passed a law against track betting so Keno's
name had to change again. Keno finally stuck to its original name of Keno.
Keno's maximum legal payout in 1963 was $25,000 in Nevada. This was raised
to about $50,000 in 1979. In 1989, the Nevada Gaming Commission finally took
out the limit and casinos were tasked with setting their own limits.
Keno above all things is a game of luck. There's no skill, no special
knowledge or ability that you need to have in order to win in keno. If you
have a hotline to Lady Luck, that's great - share it with us, will you? -if
not, then your fate in keno is entirely out of your hands.
Several keno players, however, insist on looking for ways to improve their
chances of winning. Keno players are basically torn between two possible
ways of improving their odds at keno: strategy and system.
Naturally, you can't do that with the numbers 1 to 80 but whichever system
you'll use at keno, its strength and foundation lies on how much you believe
it would work for you - just like how the Chinese did so with their own
system back then.
Strategy This is not like forming a tactical plan to ambush a certain rebel
army. When you use a strategy in a gambling game, all you're doing is
following common sense and a proven and effective way of thinking.
The most effective strategy in keno, according to experts, is to constantly
remember that the game of keno is based on luck so no matter how much you
wish it to be otherwise, there'd be times that you'll truly lose.
Good luck and hope you have fun!
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