Be smart, play clever, and pickup craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is supposed that Sir William’s soldiers enjoyed Hazard through a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when driven away by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. Many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn built the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he designed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.