Be smart, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately one hundred years old. Current craps developed from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is theorized that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. Most think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.