Be smart, play cunning, and pickup craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the English, the French moved south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the current craps layout. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
