Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Current craps evolved from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen enjoyed Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and found safety in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is gotten from the term for the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. Many acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he designed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.