Become Versed in Craps – Tips and Techniques: The Background of Craps
Be smart, play cunning, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps formed from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and throughout the nation. A great many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.