Learn to Play Craps – Tips and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be clever, play clever, and discover how to play craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps come about from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the British, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.