Scarne on Dice by John Scarne

This is probably the most important work John Scarne wrote. It is complete and authoritative. In this revised edition John provides the reader with a complete look at the world of dice, including for the first time an insider's view of how dice games are played at the Atlantic City casinos.

Scarne covers the history of modern dice and their earliest uses in games, and then analyzes the mathematics behind gambling to give players a solid foundation in odds and percentages. The most popular forms of dice games are then studied in detail. Bank Craps Las Vegas style gets full treatment with coverage of everything from setting limits, the bank craps table and the different bets to tips on how to play the game sensibly, how to spot a crooked casino and how Las Vegas casinos operate. Open or Money Craps (the private game of craps) is discussed, and the author shows how to spot hustlers and chumps wherever games are played.

Scarne also takes a look at illegal craps and why it is such big business, exposing the gimmicks used and types of people who work this kind of game. Several chapters concentrate on cheats, the ways dice may be fixed and how to recognize a crook at work.

For the system player, there is a full evaluation of all the known systems, especially Scarne's own Bank Crap system.

The book also covers popular dice games other than craps, including Backgammon, Chuck-A-Luck, The Cross on the Cage, Crown and Anchor, Klondike, Raffles, Poker Dice, Baseball and many more, with correct odds for all games using 2, 3, 4 or 5 dice. Here too are Scarne's own games: Scarney Dice, Skarney, Skarney Gin and Scarney Baccarat. There's a glossary of dice terms, a guide to calculating the average number of rolls needed to effect a winning or losing decision and tables of odds and percentages for easy reference.

Scarne on Dice is the best investment any dice player could ever make. It's like having the master himself at your elbow whenever the cubes roll.

• Contents
• Foreword
• 1 Modern Dice and Their History
• 2 The Mathematics and Science of Gambling
• 3 Psychic or Educated Dice
• 4 Various Crap Games and Scarne's Rules
• 5 Scarne's Correct Odds on Craps
• 6 One Reason Private Game Right Bettors Die Broke
• 7 Bank Craps Las Vegas Style
• 8 Open or Money Craps
• 9 The Private or Military Game of Craps
• 10 Illegal Craps Is Big Business
• 11 Gamblers, Hustlers and Cheats
• 12 Crooked Dice: Inside Work
• 13 Crooked Dice: Outside Work
• 14 Crooks at Work: Moves
• 15 So You Have a System?
• 16 Scarne's Rules for Other Dice Games
• 17 Scarney Dice
• 18 Skarney-The Best in Card Games
• 19 Skarney Gin The World's Best Two-Handed Card Game
• 20 Scarney Baccarat The World's Best Casino Card Game
• Glossary of Dice Terms and Gambler's Argot
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Appendix D
• Index

8th revised edition 1980; 512 pages.
word count: 177639 which is equivalent to 710 standard pages of text