Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps developed from the old English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s horsemen played Hazard during a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French moved down south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is gotten from the term for the non-winning toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.