Here is a list with 100 top paying adsense keywords for 2009: http://www.tareeinternet.com/forum/seo/2238-highest-paying-adsense-keywords-list-2009-a.html Only go after the highest paying keywords if you think you stand a reasonable chance of getting traffic from that keyword. Some keywords are too competitive or don't get much search volume. I offer keyword services for low prices if you need some professional help choosing keywords.
Google is smart enough to realize that some people will try to look for the highest paying Adsense keywords. Google has this thing called SMART PRICING which basically discounts the value of clicks on your site. Remember the old chestnut: "Content is King"
Good link, and the site is right you can get clicks that pay $2 without the need to target generic stuff like ""mortgages" or "finance" which are extremely hard to rank for. As the site says, there are many 4 or 5 word longtails that pay $1-2 per click which even a newb can rank for you just need to find them.
DOn't chase the high paying keywords. U would end up making a lot of insurance and DUI lawyer sites which gets no traffic. There are other moderately high paying keywords like online degrees, jobs, diet etc that u can target.