Be clever, play smart, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.