Craps Strategies

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he invented the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.