Craps Information

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is acquired from the name of the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.