Master Craps – Hints and Tactics: The Past of Craps
Be smart, play clever, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he invented the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.