LAS VEGAS, Posted 3:53 p.m. EDT July 5, 2000 -- "Vegas for Dummies" is perhaps one of my most appropriate writing assignments ever, if you consider the fact that I almost NEVER gamble. Sure, I pick up the occasional pull-tab, scratch-off or lottery ticket, but I have yet to visit the inside of a Las Vegas casino.

So, am I a gambling "dummy?" Let's see. The closest I usually come to seeing a bandit (one-armed, or otherwise) is kicking back to watch Clint Eastwood in a "spaghetti western" on the VCR. "Black Jack" is that gum I used to chew as a kid. "Dice" is something I do to my veggies in the kitchen.

I think you get the picture.

That's why it's helpful to know that virtually every casino in Las Vegas offers gambling lessons. And, it's free for the asking, says Wendy Diers, manager of the Minneapolis-based Omni Travel. "They'll try to entice you to gamble in every way," she laughs. By the way, she adds, they won't show you how to play the slot machines -- that's self-explanatory.

Still, it doesn't hurt to study up before your trip. Otherwise, if you're a first-timer, you're likely casting yourself into a situation that you are not ready for. First of all, familiarize yourself with some of the games you want to play. Here are some of the more common ones you'll find in Vegas:

Black Jack

The object of this popular card game is to beat the dealer with a card total equal to the dealer or 21 or less, without going over 21.

TERMS TO KNOW: "Hit" (to draw another card from the deck), "stand" (declining request for more cards), "bust" (a card total over the limit of 21), "natural" (an ace and ten value card as an original hand) and "hole card" (the dealer's unseen card).

STRATEGY: Print a strategy cheat card online.

Roulette

A roulette table consists of a wheel located at one end of a table, and a betting layout extending across the rest of the tabletop.

Players are seated around the table on three sides.

There are 38 symbols around the circumference of the wheel, numbered 1 through 36 plus a 0 and 00. Each symbol has an identical slot on the wheel. The numbers are marked on a background alternately of black and red -- with the 0 and 00 on a green background.

Players place chips on the layout of numbers to place a bet. The dealer (also known as the "croupier"), spins the wheel and at the same time spins a small white ball on the rim of the wheel in the opposite direction of the turning wheel. The ball eventually drops into one of the numbered slots. That number and color then wins that spin.

TERMS TO KNOW: "Croupier" (another name for the dealer) and "red-black bet" (an outside wager on whether the spin of the wheel will be a red or a black number).

STRATEGY: Check the betting layout.

Craps

A game in which the player rolls the dice, trying for a certain number from 2 to 12, depending on the situation. There are 36 combinations of numbers that will produce one of the 11 numbers from 2 to 12.

Rules of the game: If on the first time you roll a 7 or a 11, you've rolled a "natural" and you win the equivalent amount of chips you bet on the pass line. If you roll a 2, 3, or 12 on your first throw, that is called "craps" and you lose. The shooter does not relinquish the dice, rather continues to roll until he "sevens out." If on the first roll, you shoot a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, then that's your established "box point." The object is to keep rolling the dice until you make that number again.

You lose if you roll a seven before making your box point.

TERMS TO KNOW: You should be familiar with the four people that control the game -- the "boxman" (the "boss" of the game who sits in the middle of the table), two "dealers" (who flank the boxman and pay off the winners and "rake" in the losers' chips), and the "stickman" (who stands on the player's side and controls the action of the dice and the pace of the game).

Poker

This is a card game in which players make bets on cards they hold or hope to hold. The two basic types of poker are "Draw" and "Stud." In Draw Poker, each player receives five cards. Players then discard unwanted cards and draw the same amount of new cards. Players bet before and after the draw.

There are several types of Stud Poker, most notably Five Stud poker, where the players are dealt one card facedown and one card face up. The players are then dealt three additional cards faceup. Bets are made after each round of cards is dealt. Poker games can be either high poker or low poker. Terms to know: Listed below are the ranks of hands in descending order.