Craps Strategy

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the British, the French moved down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is acquired from the term for the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. A good many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.