Pickup Craps – Hints and Plans: The History of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and discover how to play craps the proper way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s horsemen bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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