Pickup Craps – Pointers and Techniques: The History of Craps

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

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps formed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s paladins enjoyed Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. A good many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he established the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.


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