Be smart, play clever, and pickup craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and across the country. A good many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he invented the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
