08.02
Pickup Craps – Hints and Schemes: The History of Craps
Be smart, play cunning, and pickup craps the ideal way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the birth of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he created the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.