Craps History

The first dice players date back to the Roman Empire according to several researchers. In fact some of the Roman players such as the emperors tried to cheat with the dice games they played. The first die in the cube shape was created in 600 B.C. There are also stories about Indian individuals playing dice games and losing or winning a fortune. Asia has always been into the dice games. Some options from the past for dice were knuckle bones.

Arrows, stones, bones, and sticks were thrown by fortuneteller individuals during the B.C. era as a way to gamble and tell what may come for the tribes in that year. Shaman used the dice for these purposes as well. The fact is dice have been around for a long time, and so have certain games that the dice were used for. While the dice we typically think about today are cubed with 6 numbers, there have been several other types. Wood, bones, animal teeth, nutshells, and horns were used to make the dice. Ivory for a long time was a material that would shape the cubical dice. Now we use something called hard cellulose in casinos.

Craps is not one of those games that is known for being around during the B.C. era. In fact its origins are much sooner than that. Craps or a form of craps according to some scholars is Sic Bo. Sic Bo has three dice and is an ancient Chinese game. It has some of the same types of bets with different names, but the rules do vary extremely. Most scholars actually believe the Craps began a hundred years ago. This game was started in England under the name Hazard. Other scholars have found evidence that Hazard was started much earlier, around the 12th century in fact. There are several well noted Europeans that played this game. It is thought that the Mayflower brought the game to America as Hazard.

The French also brought the game over in the 19th century perhaps late 18th century. The French on the other hand called it Craps rather than Hazard. There have been different rules and tables created for the game throughout the years, but the casinos still play the most popular table version around. In the early versions you could bet only against the house.

Winn created the rules with the right and wrong bet. He also changed the table format for a Don't Pass wager. This is the game we have learned to play in the last 70 years as it was placed in casinos around 1931. It has since become very popular in other countries outside of North America.

Craps have always tried to beat the house with several different strategy systems and much more. The fact is the craps game has changed little over time with the exception of adding such things as a progressive jackpot in some casinos.