Become Versed in Craps – Tricks and Plans: The Past of Craps


Be clever, play cunning, and become versed in craps the proper way!

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the British, the French headed down south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he invented the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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