Become Versed in Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The Past of Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated down south and found safety in the south of Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is acquired from the name of the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. Many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he established the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.