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Become Versed in Craps – Hints and Techniques: The History of Craps

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Be cunning, play clever, and discover how to play craps the correct way!

Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved down south and discovered refuge in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. A good many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

Posted in Craps.


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