Craps TipsBeginner Craps Tips

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps developed from the old English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers enjoyed Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French headed south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. Many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he created the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.