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Become Versed in Craps – Tips and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and discover how to play craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. A great many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he established the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.