Be cunning, play cunning, and discover how to play craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Modern craps come about from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the English, the French moved south and located refuge in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which is derived from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A few acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps setup. He appended the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.