02.05
Be a Master of Craps – Tricks and Techniques: The Background of Craps
Be cunning, play cunning, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps evolved from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed down south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they after a while became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and across the country. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.