Craps Strategies

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the origin of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is supposed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he established the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.