Craps Tips

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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, although Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when banished by the English, the French moved down south and discovered refuge in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.