Become Versed in Craps – Tips and Tactics: The Background of Craps


Be cunning, play cunning, and pickup craps the proper way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard through a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and located safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. Many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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