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Learn to Play Craps – Tips and Techniques: The History of Craps

Be smart, play smart, and become versed in craps the proper way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French moved down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. Most acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he developed the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

Posted in Craps.


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