Learn to Play Craps – Tips and Schemes: The Past of Craps
Be smart, play clever, and discover how to play craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French headed south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is acquired from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he created the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.