Craps Tips

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. A great many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.