Craps Strategies

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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps developed from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and across the country. A good many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.