Become Versed in Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be brilliant, play clever, and learn how to play craps the proper way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s horsemen enjoyed Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. A great many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.