Pickup Craps – Pointers and Plans: The History of Craps

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Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French relocated south and located sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. A good many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.