Be cunning, play brilliant, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps formed from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins enjoyed Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they after a while became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
