All About the History of Craps

• The most fashionable men of 18th and 19th century England rolled dice in a game called Hazard in luxurious private gambling houses. In hazard the banker (setter), sets a stake. The player (caster), calls a main (a number from 5 to 9, inclusive) and then throws two dice. If he "nicks" (5 is nicked by 5; 6 by 6 or 12; 7 by 7 or 11; 8 by 8 or 12; 9 by 9), he wins the stake. The caster throws out, losing the stake, when throwing aces or deuce-ace ("crabs", or "craps") or when throwing 11 or 12 to a main of 5 or 9, 11 to 6 or 8, and 12 to 7. Any other throw is his chance; he keeps throwing until the chance comes up, when he wins, or until the main comes up, when he loses. When a chance is thrown, the setter pays more than the original stake, according to specified odds.

The French learned the game from the English and called it Craps or French Hazard, a corruption of "Crabs," the name for a pair of ones. In French hazard the player throws against the house. In English or Chicken Hazard the player throws against an opponent.

When settlers arrived in the new world, they brought their dice with them. And, gradually, as dice were rolled on riverboats, wharfs and in private houses, a simplified Americanized version of "Craps" developed: Bernard de Mandeville adapted Craps from the game Hazard in New Orleans in 1813 and simplified hazard into the present game of private craps. So the casino dice game of craps is of American origin. 

Private craps then moved up the Mississippi river on steamboats and spread to casinos and gambling halls throughout the country. This original version of craps allowed only "field" and "come bets", which made the game very vulnerable against fixed dice, which were often used. 

It wasn't until John H. Winn, a dice-maker by trade, created an innovated version of craps, where players could bet for, or against the roller. This eliminated the usefulness of fixed dice and created the very popular versions of craps that are played today.

The popular game moved west with the frontier, and is played today in homes and clubs across the country. By 1910, craps had become the most popular casino game in the world. As many as 30 million Americans play dice every year. And the stakes can be gigantic. Some years ago, a Detroit businessman broke a casino bank when he won $300,000 in less than two hours of play.