Master Craps – Pointers and Strategies: The History of Craps
Posted in Craps on 06/03/2026 07:25 am by Donovan
Be brilliant, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the birth of the game, although Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French headed south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was acquired from the name of the non-winning toss of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he established the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.