Master Craps – Tricks and Schemes: The Background of Craps


[ English ]

Be brilliant, play cunning, and pickup craps the right way!

Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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