Learn to Play Craps – Tips and Strategies: The Background of Craps


Be smart, play brilliant, and master craps the correct way!

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French moved down south and located sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the current craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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