Pickup Craps – Pointers and Tactics: The History of Craps

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the right way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers enjoyed Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck 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. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.