Be smart, play clever, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is theorized that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the castle’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when banished by the British, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the losing toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players could bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he established the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.