Be a Master of Craps – Hints and Schemes: The Background of Craps
Be smart, play clever, and master craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Current craps come about from the old English game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is acquired from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. Many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.