Be cunning, play clever, and master craps the proper way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French headed down south and discovered safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. A good many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he developed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.