Become Versed in Craps – Pointers and Techniques: The History of Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Modern craps developed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights bet on Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated south and found sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they after a while became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.