Master Craps – Tricks and Schemes: The History of Craps
Be cunning, play clever, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps come about from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and discovered sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A good many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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