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Learn to Play Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be brilliant, play brilliant, and master craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French relocated south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.