Hazard (game) Hazard (game) 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. At Crockford's Club in London, hazard was especially popular. In the 19th century, the game craps developed from hazard through a simplification of the rules. Craps is now very popular in North America but neither game remains popular amongst the rest of the world. Any number may play, but only one player – the caster –
Hazard (game) chance of 6, he could win £8 (4/5 × £10). For each main the probability of winning can be calculated: In some reports 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, he 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 devolves into craps. The name "hazard" is borrowed from Old French.