Craps Information

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps formed from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard amid a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title 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 migrated to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A good many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he invented the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.