Master Craps – Tips and Techniques: The History of Craps
Be smart, play cunning, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, although Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French relocated south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and all over the nation. A good many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he established the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
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