Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps evolved from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is gotten from the term for the losing throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the current craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he designed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.