Learn to Play Craps – Pointers and Plans: The History of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and learn how to play craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French headed south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is acquired from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.