Become Versed in Craps – Tips and Plans: The Background of Craps

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

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

Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps come about from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could wager 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.