Be smart, play smart, and learn how to play craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French headed south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and throughout the nation. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he created the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
