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Master Craps – Pointers and Techniques: The History of Craps

Be cunning, play cunning, and discover how to play craps the ideal way!

Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about a century old. Modern craps formed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which is acquired from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.