Become Versed in Craps – Hints and Tactics: The Background of Craps
Be brilliant, play smart, and become versed in craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps formed from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights played Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French moved down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.