Craps Tips

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the old English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he developed the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.