Be a Master of Craps – Tricks and Schemes: The Background of Craps


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

Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the ancestry of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard during a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.

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