The Short History Of Craps
6 september 2006
Craps is an exciting betting game which
involves a unique relationship between the crapshooter, the
bettors and the table master. How did it all start?
Craps is an exciting casino dice game
which exists in three forms today - street craps, casino craps
and online craps. Street craps is an informal take on the game
usually played outdoors; casino craps is the Las Vegas version
of the game played at Land Based Casinos and online craps is the
latest addition to the craps family having taken the online
casino world by storm a decade ago.
Craps is said to be an ancestor of an early English game called
Hazard, which was invented by Sir William of Tyre, an English
nobleman who lead his knights in the Crusades to a siege on a
castle called Hazarth. The game was used to pass time while
waiting out the siege and thus the name developed. Some believe
that craps date back to the Roman Empire when soldiers used to
shave down pigs knuckles into dice and throw them into their
helmets as a form of entertainment.
Hazard slowly spread to Medieval Europe
and was very popular with the English. It then spread to the
luxurious English gambling houses in the late 1600s and early
1700s. The noblemen and royalty which frequented these gambling
houses were very enthusiastic about the game and planning a
large version of the game became a major social event. The
French also caught wind of the excitement of hazard but they
decided to change the name to craps named for the lowest value
of the throw of the dice.
Hazard managed to wind its way to the
United States with the Cajuns who were misplaced after The
French lost control of Acadia to the English. Some also believe
that craps came to America with the first English settlers on
the Mayflower. The game spread in 19th century America on the
riverboats of the Mississippi and new variations of craps
developed, making it simper and faster.
In 1907, John H. Winn, the 'father' of modern craps introduced
some revolutionary changes to the game. He decided that it
should be possible for craps players to bet right or wrong. He
changed the board's layout and also introduced an area on the
board called "Don't Pass" bets. Winn introduced a number of
other changes and these are all still used in the modern day
version of craps.
After gambling was legalised in Nevada in
the 1930s, craps along with several other casino games became
tremendously popular as they were introduced to the betting
masses that flocked to Las Vegas.
The online casino industry has
subsequently opened up the exhilaration of craps to even more
bettors than ever before. While the camaraderie and special
relationship between the crapshooter, the bettors and the table
master cannot be duplicated in a virtual casino, the rest of the
exciting elements of the game should not be missed. Logon to
your favourite online casino today and begin playing craps.
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