Craps Tips

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Current craps formed from the old English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin 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 theorized that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed down south and found sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was acquired from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and all over the country. A good many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he designed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.