Master Craps – Pointers and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be cunning, play brilliant, and pickup craps the ideal way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard through a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French headed south and located sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the nation. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he designed the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.