Craps Tips

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is gotten from the name of the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and throughout the country. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.