Learn to Play Craps – Tricks and Schemes: The Past of Craps
Be clever, play cunning, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French headed south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he invented the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.