Craps Tips

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French moved south and found safety in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and all over the country. A great many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.