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

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Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins enjoyed Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when driven away by the British, the French headed down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. A good many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he established the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.