Be smart, play cunning, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French headed south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was acquired from the term for the bad luck toss of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the current craps setup. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he created the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.