Become Versed in Craps – Hints and Tactics: The History of Craps
Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French moved south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was acquired from the name of the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he established the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.