Become Versed in Craps – Hints and Plans: The Background of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and master craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Modern craps come about from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was acquired from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. A good many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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