Craps Tricks

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French headed down south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and across the country. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.