Be cunning, play smart, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s horsemen enjoyed Hazard during a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French moved south and found refuge in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was gotten from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.