Understand how to Compete in Craps – Hints and Tactics: the Recorded History of Craps

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Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the archaic British game named Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been made up by the British man, Sir William of Tyre, in the 1300’s. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was developed from the fortification’s name.

Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to French North America (the area of Acadia, which is Nova Scotia today). In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and located refuge in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the dice game and developed it to be more statistically honest. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name of the game to craps, which was attained from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the dice game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and across the nation. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the shooter to not win. Later, he developed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.