Be clever, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps developed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.