Be brilliant, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the nation. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he designed the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
