Master Craps – Hints and Plans: The History of Craps
Be smart, play clever, and master craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French moved down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they after a while became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and throughout the country. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Later, he established the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.