[ English ]

Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the proper way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps come about from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard through a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French headed down south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was gotten 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 great many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he invented the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.