Be clever, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately one hundred years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s horsemen wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the English, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
