Craps Tips

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Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French headed down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Later, he invented the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.