Now you're ready for the big time, ready at least for an introduction to the gambling house game. Just make believe that you're standing around listening and watching, which is a wise way, first off, to approach gambling house craps or any other gambling house game. To be sure, it's quite unlike what the "friendly private game" player has been used to.

In Nevada, gambling is a state-wide operation. And while most legalized houses operate on a modest scale, having a few crap tables and slot machines, there are in cities such as Reno and Las Vegas the big, flashy places-just like in the movies. Entering one of these for the first time can be both a glamorous and frightening experience. Here, millionaires, movie stars and the office girl on two weeks vacation with pay have one thing in common-money, in varying amounts, to wager.

The better casinos and clubs are gambling emporiums offering their visitors true variety — Craps, 21, Poker, Roulette, The Wheel Of Fortune, Keno, Low-Ball and of course, the famous "one-armed bandits" — the Slot Machine. Such houses occupy spacious quarters-one- and two- and three-stories-covering a half acre or more in area. The rooms are indeed comfortable, often luxuriously decorated with thick carpeting, silk drapery and exotic murals. Add to this, air conditioning, music, free food and drinks (in some places) for the gamblers and it's easy to see why they attract a steady flow of players to their tables.

Craps as played in the legalized gambling house is known as "Bank Craps" and it differs in a few respects from the private game. For one thing, it's a faster game with more players involved. The house is the bank, running the game and taking all the bets. The players are not allowed to make side bets among themselves. And of course, there are definite house rules because of the money at stake.

Briefly, here are the fundamentals of play, and we'll elaborate as we go along:

The players stand around a specially built long table on which a "layout" — such as those illustrated on the following pages — is marked to indicate the available bets and the odds offered by the house on each one.

Bets are placed on this layout, and the dice are thrown on the same table. The players themselves are allowed to roll the dice. They bounce or throw them against a retaining wall surrounding the table, as specified by house regulations. And in this respect a player had better conform or he's asked to leave the table.

Bets are placed before each roll in the various sections allocated. After the roll, the dice are raked in by an attendant known as the "stickman" who tosses them to the player who is due to roll.

From there on, it's the same thing all over again around the table. Win, lose or draw, players come and go twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year-for many legalized gambling houses never lock their doors.

The crap table layout illustrated are but a few of the dozens found in different casinos and clubs, and are marked for only a selection of various bets which are permitted under sectional or house rules. However, we'll explain enough of the variations to give you a basic education.

PASS: This section may also be termed "Does Pass" — "Do" or "Line." All of the terms mean that the player will "pass." They are also known as "Line Bets." When you place your money or chips here, it goes on the shooter just as in a regular crap game. If you win, the house pays even money.

DON'T PASS: This section sometimes is labeled "Lose" or "Don't." With it you'll note the statement "Bar 6-6" or "Bar 1-1" which means that if Double Six or Double One comes up, the bet is off, neither the house nor the player wins. It's a "standoff" or tie. You'll find layouts which read "Bar 1-2" which only increase the house's edge — since 1-2 which is also 2-1 comes up as often as 1-1 and 6-6 together.

COME: The "Come" and "Don't Come" bets (the latter with the 6-6 barred) apply after the first roll. Let's say that someone is shooting for a point, hoping to make a pass. You get tired of waiting and make a "Come" or "Don't Come" bet to start a new sequence. On a "Come" bet, any numbers that come up are your "points." Should the shooter promptly roll a "7" it would mean a loss on the "pass" bet, but persons playing the "Come" bet would win. Should the shooter make the point, it would be a win for the "pass" bet, but the play would continue on the "Come" bet. On a "Don't Come" bet the play is reversed.

You lose if your "points" come up again. Also on 7 or 11. But you win on 2 or 3, and break even on 12.

BIG 6 OR 8: Here, you simply put your money on one or the other number. If your number comes up before a 7, the house pays you even money.

FIELD: When you play the field, you bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 and win even money should any of these numbers be rolled. Some houses pay double on "2" and "12". Others include "5" instead of "4" as a field bet.

UNDER 7 OVER: The "Under 7" and "Over 7" are even money bets. There are only 15 chances in each category. The house wins on the remaining six, when "7" itself comes up.

ANY 7: You win if any 7 comes up on the first roll — otherwise you lose.

ANY CRAPS: You bet that 2, 3 or 12 comes up on the first roll. You lose if any other number comes up.

HARD WAYS: These are long shots, exact combinations you bet on to come up — namely, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. You win only if the numbers come up as such. You lose if the same number comes up any other way — or if 7 comes up.

BOX NUMBERS: These are usually 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 and are in individual boxes on the layout. When a shooter is after any of these numbers as a "point" you can bet that he will or will not make it before rolling a 7. Chances against a shooter making "4" or "10" are 2-1; against making "5" or "9" 3-2; against making "6" or "8" 6-5. We'll go into details on all such chances later.

3 OR 11: You bet that the shooter rolls these on the next roll. The average house pays 15-1 if you win.

2 OR 12: On single numbers, such as Double Ace or Double Six on the next roll, the average house pays 30-1 if you win.

ODD NUMBERS: Some houses give odd-number bets on a "come out" or "next roll" basis, such as "7" made with a "1-6", or "4-3" or "5-2". The average house pays 15-1 if you win.

Don't accept as "official" anything you see printed on a crap table layout. Layouts vary tremendously but few players realize it. None is "standard" which is all the more reason why you should acquaint yourself with the correct odds. You will then be able to recognize how big a "take" the house gets — and also be able to compare the merits or demerits of different crap tables.

On your first or next visit to the big-time gambling casinos do a little shopping around. You can shop for bargains in gambling just as you do for food in a super-market. Some crap layouts offer better odds than others. And some houses employ "gyp layouts," not that they are dishonest, but that they offer odds well below the average. Such a house isn't cheating you. They aren't hiding anything because the "gyp" odds are plainly marked for all to see. But you're cheating yourself if you play against such odds.

Still, don't expect anything for nothing. A licensed gambling house derives its profits from the fact that it has a mathematical advantage in every bet. And they will accept most bets, though some have limits. Out of whatever money is wagered against it, the house may expect to keep a certain proportion.

The following table shows the most common bets, the odds the house normally allows on them, and your chances of making such bets. It also shows approximately how much the house expects to keep out of every dollar bet against it. This is known as the "house percentage."

While it's true that Craps gives the player a better break for his money than any other gambling house game (as far as odds are concerned), it's not that big of a break. In fact, no crap table layout gives the player a really healthy break. Let's elaborate on the various layout bets and you'll see why:

BIG 6 AND BIG 8 BETS: Such bets are big, literally. These numbers are found on all crap table layouts, plainly marked in big rectangles or squares, for all to see. The house offers even money that a 7 will come up before either the 6 or 8. And the unthinking crapshooter, figuring that 6, 7 and 8 all can be thrown three ways (namely 1-5, 2-4, 3-3; 1-6, 2-5, 3-4; 2-6, 3-5, 4-4) believes it to be a good bet, truly an even-money proposition. But of course, he's wrong. The house has a 6 to 5 advantage because 7 can be thrown six ways (1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, 6-1) and 6 and 8 only five ways each (1-5, 2-4, 3-3, 4-2, 5-1; 2-6, 3-5, 4.-4, 5-3, 6-2).

THE FIELD: This is a large section of bets, usually consisting of the 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 12. And sometimes the 5 is substituted for the 4. With the 4 in the "field" there ordinarily is a notice that double-ace or double-6 pays 2 to 1, and some pay 3 to 1 on the double-ace and nothing on the double-6. When 5 is in the "field" instead of 4 there is no double payoff on anything. The house figures matters out pretty closely.

As you can see from studying the table above, your odds against what the average legalized gambling house actually pays in the way of odds spells out one thing — the house is always ahead of the game. So when you gamble accept that fact. Know the correct odds, the odds actually offered, and expect returns accordingly.

A "field" bet is a bet on the next roll. If one of the "field" numbers appears instead of the 6, 7, 8 or 5 (if 4 is in the "field"), the house pays even-money. Again, this appears to be a good bet. The gambler figures that he has seven numbers to bet on against four for the house. However, on an average the house's four numbers come twenty times to sixteen times for the player's seven "field" numbers.

We talked about Probabilities In Dice before — but here they are again in chart form. It may help you commit these facts to memory.

HARD WAYS: These are long shots, meaning double numbers must come up to win (2-2 to make 4; 3-3 to make 6; 4-4 to make 8 and 5-5 to make 10). The house pays good odds if you win – 7 to 1 for 4 or 10 and 9 to 1 for 6 or 8. But your chances of winning aren't that good.

For example: To make 8 the hard way you must roll 4-4 before a 7 or another type of 8 comes up. There are six ways to roll a 7 plus four other ways to make an 8 (2-6, 3-5, 5-3, 6-2). Thus, it's 10 to 1 against making an 8 the hard way — and the house pays only 9 to 1.

As for rolling 10 the hard way (5-5), the double number must appear before a 7 or another type of 10. There are six ways to roll a 7 plus two other Ways to roll a 10 (4-6, 6-4). Thus, it's 8 to 1 against making 10 the hard way — and the house pays only 7 to 1. The hard ways are hard indeed.

OTHER LAYOUT BETS: The "Under 7 Over" pays only even-money, but the actual odds against it are 21 to 15. The "7" offers 4 to 1 odds but should offer 5 to 1. The "H" gives you 15 to 1 but should give you 17 to 1. And on single numbers, such as Double Ace and Double Six, the house pays 30 to 1 — though the odds are actually 35 to 1.

The term "gyp layout" is used for a layout giving odds well below the average. But in such a sense, as previously pointed out, the term is used incorrectly. The house isn't gypping you when they offer bad odds and you accept them, or when they disguise actual odds and you don't recognize the disguise — but think that you're getting something for nothing.

Such houses are merely wording their odds to make them sound good. For instance, if the house pays 4 to 1 odds, the winner of the bet receives his $1 back, together with $4 paid by the house. But some houses quote these odds by offering "5 for 1." The catch here is the word "for" — meaning that for every $1 the bettor puts up, he receives, when he wins, $5, — including his own $1. This, of course, is the same as odds of 4 to 1.

Then, there are houses that go one better. See the typical "gyp layout" on the following page. It offers "4 for 1" on the "Under 7 Over" bet, meaning that a winning bettor receives $4, including the $1 he has bet, so that he has actually taken odds of only 3 to 1. Nobody's fault here but the player who accepts such odds.

The layout also increases the house edge by barring 1-2 instead of the usual 1-1 or 6-6. Remember, 1-2 is also 2-1 and comes up as often as 1-1 and 6-6 together. So this is no break. Also, note that the word "for" is used throughout - "7 for 1" for Craps; "7 for 1" for Doubles; "15 for 1" for 11. Thus, the house, even more so than with the average layout, is ahead of the game all the way down the line.

Unfortunately, players have become accustomed to the "for" joke, and don't even question the odds offered. So the "gyp layout" can still be found in small-time houses. Some houses don't bother having such special layouts made; they simply paint out the "to" and substitute the magic word "for" — which really tells you what they think of the "sucker." So don't you be caught with such a simple trick. As for "gyp houses" with crooked tables, dice and all the rest of it — that's another subject in itself. We'll discuss "gyp houses" — better known as "Bustout Joints" in Chapter V.