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Become Versed in Craps – Tricks and Schemes: The Past of Craps

Be smart, play cunning, and pickup craps the proper way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

Posted in Craps.


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