Learn to Play Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The Background of Craps
Be brilliant, play clever, and learn how to play craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps formed from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s horsemen played Hazard through a blockade on the castle 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 exiled by the British, the French moved south and located safety in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and throughout the nation. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.