Pickup Craps – Tips and Plans: The Background of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Modern craps come about from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is said to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French moved south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He appended the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.