Be smart, play smart, and master craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and found safety in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
