Be clever, play cunning, and discover how to play craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps formed from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is said to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French relocated south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the losing toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi scows and all over the country. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the current craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
