Be clever, play clever, and master craps the ideal way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about one hundred years old. Modern craps evolved from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the English, the French moved down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A few think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.