Be brilliant, play smart, and become versed in craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps come about from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he established the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
