Pickup Craps – Pointers and Schemes: The Past of Craps


Be cunning, play cunning, and learn how to play craps the right way!

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and located sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was acquired from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the modern craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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