Learn to Play Craps – Hints and Strategies: The Background of Craps
Be brilliant, play cunning, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French moved south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the non-winning toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.