Master Craps – Hints and Tactics: The Background of Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps formed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It is supposed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French headed down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.