Be brilliant, play cunning, and become versed in craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was acquired from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the country. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he established the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.