Become Versed in Craps – Hints and Schemes: The History of Craps

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Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French headed south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he established the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.