Learn to Play Craps – Tips and Techniques: The Past of Craps
Be smart, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. A great many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.