Be smart, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated down south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the nation. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
