Learn to Play Craps – Tricks and Tactics: The Past of Craps
Be brilliant, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers enjoyed Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is acquired from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.