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 a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the British, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A good many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.