Craps Tips

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and across the country. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.