Be brilliant, play cunning, and learn how to play craps the right way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Modern craps evolved from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been created by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s paladins gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French moved down south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. Most acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps setup. He put in place the Do not Pass line so players can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
