Hazard is an early English game played with two dice. It was mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the 14th century. Despite its complicated rules, hazard was very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries and was often played for money. Hazard was especially popular at Crockford's Club in London. In the 19th century, the game craps developed from hazard through a simplification of the rules. Craps is now popular in North America but neither game remains popular within the rest of the world.
Rules
Any number may play, but only one player – the caster – has the dice at any time.
In each round, the caster specifies a number between 5 and 9 inclusive: this is the main. They throw the dice again:
- if they roll the chance, they win;
- if they roll the main, they lose (unlike on the first throw);
- if they roll neither, they keep throwing until they roll one or the other, winning with the chance and losing with the main.
The caster keeps their role until losing three times in succession. After the third loss, they must pass the dice to the left, that player becoming the new caster.
Betting
Bets are between the caster and the bank (the setter), which may be the remaining players acting as a group.
If the caster nicks on the first throw, they win an amount equal to their stake. After the first throw, the caster wins their stake if they get their chance before their main.
After the first throw, the caster (and others, via side bets) may wager an additional sum that the chance will come before the main. These bets are made at odds determined by the relative proportions of the main and the chance. on the rules of the game, the main is determined randomly by tossing the dice until a valid main appears. In this case, the overall player disadvantage is 1.84%.
If the caster can choose a main, they should always choose 7 (resulting in the lowest disadvantage, with 1.41%). This is the origin of a similar dice game, craps, since if 7 is always chosen, the game is played under the rules of craps.
Etymology and history
The name hazard is borrowed from Old French. The origin of the French word is unclear, but probably derives from Spanish azar ("an unfortunate card or dice roll"), with the final -d by analogy with the common French suffix -ard. The Spanish word has been supposed in turn to come from Arabic, either from the name of a castle in Palestine, By that time, the game had already been brought to the Colony of Virginia, as a law barring ministers from playing dice was passed in 1624. This was corrupted to craps by 1818, as it was named in Bibliothèque Historique,