The rules of Keno are so simple and straightforward that they are covered simply by explanations of the game itself. (See How to Play and The Ticket and the Board.) However, the various choices awaiting you in Keno games can seem bewildering at first. Here are simple explanations of some of the most common variations you can play.

• Straight Ticket: Just mark how many numbers you want to play (usually no more than 20, depending on the casino.
• Way Ticket: Indicate various combinations of numbers, each with the same total number of spots, on a single ticket, thus splitting your total bet per game across the number of different “Ways” you’ve indicated.
• Combination Ticket: Indicate your desire to join together the different groups of numbers you’ve marked on your ticket in different combinations, to increase your chance of hitting a winning combination.
• Top/Bottom Ticket: Write “Top” or “Bottom” in the “Number/Ways” box on your ticket, indicating whether you’re playing, respectively, numbers 1 through 40 or 41 through 80. If you catch 13 of the numbers drawn, you win.
• Left/Right Ticket: Like “Top/Bottom” above, except you choose to play, respectively, the numbers on the left- or right-hand sides of the card.
• Edges Ticket: Write in the word “Edges” and you automatically play all 32 numbers in boxes along the ticket’s perimeter.