06.10
Become Versed in Craps – Tips and Tactics: The Past of Craps
Be smart, play cunning, and master craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s horsemen bet on Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French relocated south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is acquired from the name of the bad luck toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. A good many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwards, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.