Be smart, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when expelled by the British, the French headed south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they after a while became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A few consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.