Become Versed in Craps – Pointers and Plans: The Background of Craps
Be cunning, play smart, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s knights played Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he established the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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