Be smart, play clever, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved down south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is acquired from the term for the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. Most consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.