Is Keno Pool primarily luck or are there people that can play it really well?

C

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don’t know much about it. A very long time ago someone brought one of those Keno boards to the pool hall and I got to play it a few times and the impression I was left with was that once a ball rolls up onto the board it would be extraordinarily difficult to predict where the ball will fall. I figured a good player can probably increase their odds of having a ball fall into the desired slot via aim and speed control but I couldn’t imagine someone doing that with regularity.

Of course i could be totally wrong and I haven’t seen it played at all since then. I came across the pool movie titled Double Down South while browsing Amazon Prime Video just now and so far it seems to be all about that game.
 
cuetechasaurus said:
I came across the pool movie titled Double Down South while browsing Amazon Prime Video just now and so far it seems to be all about that game.
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My wife and I watched that movie. I actually thought the game was made up for that movie at the time. I had never heard of Keno pool and was surprised to learn it was a real thing. I recently saw a board for sale on etsy while searching for pool related items on there.
 
Depends on the actual game - there seem to be at least two. The movie game and the one I've seen. There are probably as many variations as there are card games.
The one played around here features the base bet, and a double pay, and a triple pay. Various skills include making your point total, sticking a ball in its numbered hole, as well as a couple different kinds of Kenos. The break can also be a skill shot. I've seen the game aced on the first shot. Game over, pay up. Needless to say the betting scheme makes it quite illegal.
 
There are definitely skills involved.

Shooting a specific ball to the gap between balls already on the board to get # of ball/ hole matched.

Playing multiple balls to the board, sticking next guy where he can't play a ball up.

But that ball does do crazy things when it starts rolling on the board.
 
For anyone who has seen a board in person, once the ball gets up the small ramp, is there any slope to the main flat portion of the board? Is it simply a piece of plywood laid flat on the slate? Or are there feet/shims/other on the back of it to slope the whole board slightly?
 
iusedtoberich said:
For anyone who has seen a board in person, once the ball gets up the small ramp, is there any slope to the main flat portion of the board? Is it simply a piece of plywood laid flat on the slate? Or are there feet/shims/other on the back of it to slope the whole board slightly?
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There's a slope... necessarily and entertaingly.

And frustratingly.
 
iusedtoberich said:
For anyone who has seen a board in person, once the ball gets up the small ramp, is there any slope to the main flat portion of the board? Is it simply a piece of plywood laid flat on the slate? Or are there feet/shims/other on the back of it to slope the whole board slightly?
Click to expand...
That's the rub. You better know your keno boards and what to look for. If you don't, you're the sucker.
 
just dont ever play someone who brings their own board or someone who has played on a board already you have not.

unless of course its for fun and not money.

if someone wanted a fair bet with you they would just flip a coin.
 
Any game used for gambling can be manipulated for an advantage either adjusting the game otcome or developement of skills to control the outcome. This is why the casinos require the dice to bounce off the pyramid board in craps. I watched Weeniebeanie and Cornbread Red take on all comers at the Derby one year in a version that appeared to be just the luck of the roll but the outcome seemed to show they had a pretty good edge.
 
proof most pool players are dumb when it comes to gambling. luckily most here dont gamble or say they dont.
 
bucky did have one and brought it around some. but he got one a little later than others.
you definitely didnt want to play against him on his.

and if you werent absolutely sure whose it was it might have been his.
 
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