Learn to Play Craps – Pointers and Schemes: The Past of Craps

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Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was gotten from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he invented the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.