Pickup Craps – Tricks and Tactics: The Background of Craps
Be smart, play brilliant, and master craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French moved down south and found sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. A good many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he established the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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