Master Craps – Tips and Techniques: The Past of Craps

Be smart, play smart, and master craps the ideal way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately one hundred years old. Modern craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French headed south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. A great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the current craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.