Archive for August 23rd, 2024

Master Craps – Pointers and Techniques: The History of Craps

[ English ]

Be clever, play smart, and master craps the right way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps evolved from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the ancestry 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 horsemen wagered on Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed down south and located safety in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the nation. Many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.