Learn to Play Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be smart, play clever, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen played Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French relocated south and located refuge in the south of Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and all over the country. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he developed the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.