Dice Kingdom

The Beginning of Craps

As with most gambling games, the exact history of craps is still up in the air. Some believe that the game originated way back when we learned to throw stuff at other humans.

Another belief is that the game originated from the age of the Roman Empire. It was believed that soldiers of the Roman legions used pig knucklebones shaped into cubes. They would throw the pig's knuckles at their shields for entertainment.

As you can see the origin of craps can be very confusing but the history of the dice is somewhat clear.

A modern looking cubical dice had been in Egypt that dated back as far as 600 B.C. There are even some indications that the concept of dice originated way back during prehistoric times. Primordial fortunetellers threw sacred sticks, bones, sticks and arrows to predict the future for their tribes.

The craps game we play today originated way back during the middle ages. During these times the game was called "Hazard". The game of "Hazard" was played mostly in France and some parts of Britain. The game became so popular that it even reached Asia Minor.

The nickname of the Hazard game is "crab". Hence the name craps was later on used on the game we play today. In the game of Hazard the banker or setter will set a stake. The player or caller will then call a main or a number from 5 to 9. The player will throw two dices. The player wins the stake if he throws in or nicks. The number 5 is nicked 5; the number 6 is nicked by 6 or 12; 7 gets nicked by 7 or 11; 8 gets nicked by 8 or 12; and 9 gets nicked by 9.

The caster will lose when he throws out an ace or a deuce ace. The thrower also loses out to a main of 5 or 9 when throwing 11 or 12; 11 to 6 or 8; and 12 to 7. Any other throw will be called a chance. The player will keep on throwing until the chance comes up. The setter will pay more than the original stake of the player when a chance comes out.

In French Hazard, the player throws against the house while in English Hazard the player throws against his or her opponents.

The game reached America because of the French colonies in Canada. When the colonies moved down to Louisiana, they brought the game with them. Back then it was called the Krebs but was later changed to craps.

The original version of modern craps was created in New Orleans back in 1813. Bernard de Mandeville simplified the game of Hazard. Mandeville's original craps game only had field and come bets. Then the new game by Mandeville spread throughout the country thanks largely to the Mississippi river. Then it slowly crept its way to gambling halls across United States.

However Mandeville's craps had a flaw. The game was very vulnerable to a fixed dice. John Winn a dice maker fixed this flaw. He gave the option of players betting either right or wrong. Winn also included a space on the craps table for Don't Pass bets.

When the flaws of Mandeville's game got fixed, craps grew more famous and is now one of the most famous casino games out there.