Pickup Craps – Hints 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 current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He put in place 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.