By Samantha Williams

“Craps” does somehow seem to be a strange name for what is actually a very exciting casino game. It seems almost as though it is an expletive! Although I can imagine throwing the dice, not winning, then shouting across the table, “Oh craps, I lost again!”

Just thinking about this made me curious as to the actual true beginnings of craps. I mean if you walk into a land based casino and pass a craps game in session there is always a lot of people shouting encouragement to the players. So it appears to be both popular to play and popular to watch with a good deal of interaction happening. It also happens to be the one game where the most money is wagered world-wide, and it has completely captured the imagination of the public, including me.

It is believed to be a descendent of a game called Hazard and was played by the Knights during the Crusades. One Englishman – Sir William of Tyre is credited with its invention as his knights laid siege to a fortress known as Hazarth in 1125 AD. Encylopaedia Britannica is far less romantic about the beginnings and name of the game, and state it stems from the Arabic words for “the dice” , “azzah” or “al zah”. Which makes sense if the Crusaders brought it back! It would have been a game of Arabic origin, they were fighting the Saracens, why not steal their games too?

Craps is certainly first recorded in British History and Sir Geoffrey Chaucer refers to it frequently in Canterbury Tales. Fortunes were lost by many a noble young buck in luxurious gambling houses during the 17th century, and the name change is thought to have come about because of a losing throw of 2 being called “crabs”. There are arguments as to whether the British or French took craps to the USA, but most historians believe that this is where the name change occurred, I still think my theory is sound.

An American, not having the moral scruples or the genteel refinement of the French or British, threw the dice, landed twos and shouted “craps, I lost again!” and it caught on! It is actually believed that the earliest British settlers arriving on the Mayflower were certain to have brought dice with them.

The historical argument continues with the French and British fighting again – this time in the USA. The French moved south and many people believe that the game was actually invented by French African Americans from Cajun country. Cajuns were often referred to as being “Johnny Crapaud” and “crap” happens to be French for frog. So putting all the pieces of the puzzle in place and a “crab-2” being a losing throw, a “crap” being a frog in French and everyone being at war; the natural deduction is that Hazard became Craps as a corruption of the name for that “2”, the losing throw. See my theory is quite sound!!

By Samantha Williams

Gambling is generally always played with a mixture of drinks and cigarettes. It is very rare that you will find a player at a table without a drink or a smoke in his mouth or something to eat. ­­Casino craps is once such game. However because of the nature of the game you will find that there is often no space for a payer to do anything but just stand and play especially on a night that is full. Like all other games casino craps too has a set of basic etiquette that you need to observe as a player. These set norms are not so much the rules of the game as they are things that you should and shouldn’t do to make sure that everyone at the table has a pleasant experience playing. Here are some of them:

Place wagers neatly and gently

The ideal way for you to stage your wager in a game of casino craps is to put down the wager on the table neatly and gently and stage the amount. Tossing or throwing your wager at the dealer or the stickman will not go down very well with them and things could get unpleasant for you. You need to also take into account the fact that if you toss your wager onto the table the dealer is going to have to waste time gathering it and that is something that he or she will not take to kindly.

Do not fiddle with or throw the dice

Another very common mistake that people generally tend to make when it is their turn at a game of casino craps is that they tend to fiddle with the dice a bit too much. While no one expects you to toss the dice as soon as you pick it up in our hand you are expected to toss the dice within an acceptable amount of time. Fiddling with the dice, blowing on it etc, to make it lucky is not looked upon very kindly. When you do finally let go of the dice you need to make sure that you toss it gently across the table and not throw it. If thrown, besides the dice not landing on the table, there is a good chance that you might hurt someone.

No late bets

Late bets can be very annoying for the dealer as well as the other players in a game of casino craps. You need to make sure that you always place your bet well before the shooter has been handed the dice. Late bets interrupt the momentum of the game as well as hold it up causing unnecessary and annoying delays.

Keep food and ash off the table

The casino craps table is not a tray and it is most certainly not an ash tray. You need to ensure that all your cigarettes, cigars, food and drinks are kept away from the table. Spilling any of these onto the table will not only damage it but could also lead to you being fined or asked to leave the casino all together.