Craps Tips

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French moved down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was gotten from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and throughout the nation. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Later, he created the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.