Instead of playing them as three six - spot bets, the three groups of three numbers marked in the illustration above could be players as three separate three - spot bets or one single nine - spot time. To indicate his player could do all of those things at the same time. To indicate his intention, he would write 3/3 in the margin. Beneath that fraction, he would write 3/6, and beneath that he would write 1/9. He would be making seven different wagers (the sum of the enumerators of all the fractions) simultaneously. This is known as a combination ticket. As in the way bet, he is making several bets on the same ticket. Unlike a way ticket, he is combining several different kinds of bets. A way ticket may comprise many bets, but they are all of the same kind - for instance, all six-spot bets or all eight-spot bets. A combination ticket combines different kinds of bets - for instance, three-spot bets, six-spot bets, and nine-spot bets, as in the example given above. Each fraction in the margin of a keno ticket represents a different type of bet and is known as a condition. The process of calculating the different combinations and nothing them in the margin is called conditioning. Another way to distinguish between way tickets and combination tickets is to say that a way ticket contains several bets but only one condition, while a combination ticket contains more then one condition as well as more than one bet. To reduce it to the simplest terms, a way ticket will have only one fraction in the margin, while a combination ticket will have more than one fraction. Naturally, the number of possible combinations can be increased by circling more groups. The variety of kinds of combinations can be increased by circling different-size groups of numbers. Indeed, most combination tickets involve combining different-size groups of numbers. Such tickets can become extremely complicated.
An example of this kind of ticket is given in the illustration below. With a group of two numbers, a group of three numbers, and tow groups of four numbers, the following combinations become possible: one two-spot bet, one three-spot bet, two four-spot bets, one five-spot bet, two six-spot bets, two seven-spot bets, one eight-spot bet, two nine-spot bets, one ten-spot bet, one eleven-spot bet, and one thirteen-spot bet. A player who wised to play all these combinations would make the following notations in the margin: ½, 1/3, 2/4,1/5,2/6, 2/7, 1/8, 2/9, 1/10, 1/11,1/13.
Note, however, that it is not necessary for the player to bet every one of these possible combinations simply because he has circled those four particular groups of numbers. If you check the margin of the ticket, you will note that the player has chosen to play only four of the eleven different possible types of tickets. He is playing seven different combinations (the sum of the numerators of the four fractions) but only four types of tickets (the total number of fractions). It is, however, necessary for the player to bet on every combination of any particular type he chooses to cover. Therefore, since the above ticket allows two possible nine-spot bets the player may not wager on only one of these nine-spot combinations, since the house would have no way of knowing which nine-spot was being bet on and which was not. A player's ticket must be unequivocal. If there is more than one way to interpret what he has written, the ticket is invalid. The casino is certainly not going to let you tell them what you really meant after the game has been called. All of this points up the fact that simply circling desired numbers on a keno ticket is not enough. It is impossible to know how to interpret a way or combination ticket merely by nothing what numbers have been circled.
Reference must be made to the notations in the margin of the ticket to know what the player's intentions are in making the bet. Great care must be taken in conditioning any way or combination ticket. Otherwise, you may end up making a bet that is different from what you had intended, or you may design a ticket that is invalid. Another point to remember is that all the groups of numbers you circle on a way or combination ticket must be mutually exclusive. Although it is theoretically possible to construct a functional ticket using intersecting circles, so that the same marked number is included in two or more groups, such ticket are not permitted by the house. It is not necessary to wager the same amount on each type of bet on combination ticket. In our example, the player has chosen to wager a different amount on each. He indicates this fact by writing a different price under each fraction. The W nest to each amount stand for "way"; the player is betting that sum on each way the numbers can be combined to form the kind of bet listed directly above it. If he had chosen to bet the same amount one ach one, he would have indicated by writing ".70 ea.," for example, under the entire column of fractions. The figure in the box at the upper-right corner represents the sum of all the amounts being wagered on all the various combinations the player is covering. When the same amount is being wagered on every combination, this total can be figured by multiplying the amount of each wager by the sum of the numerators of all the fractions. When a different amount is being wagered on each type of combination, it becomes necessary to multiply the numerator of each fraction by the amount being wagered on that type of bet, then adding up each of the totals arrived at. The minimum betting limit the house imposes applies not to the total sum bet on a way or combination that is covered. In other words, every separate bet, as indicated by the sum of the numerators of all of the conditioning fractions, must meet the house minimum. You can see that, when wagering combinations, the amount of money involved can become substantial. Some casinos soften the blow by lowering the minimum bet required on way and combination tickets. Some cut the minimum in half; others lower it still further. You must ask a keno writer or a runner in order to find out the policy in that particular casino.
