Be clever, play smart, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen bet on Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he established the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
