Craps TipsBeginner Craps Tips

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Dice and dice based games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game named Hazard. No one is certain of the origin of the game, but Hazard is considered to have been invented by the British man, Sir William of Tyre, in the 1300’s. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard for the duration of a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to French North America (the colony of Acadia, which is now Nova Scotia). In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they left Nova Scotia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the dice game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s stated that the Cajuns changed the name of the game to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and around the territory. Many see the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps table design. He put in place the Do not Pass line so folks could wager on the shooter to lose. Later, he developed the areas for Place bets and added the Big six, Big eight, and Hardways.