Be cunning, play clever, and master craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortress’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when expelled by the English, the French relocated down south and discovered sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps setup. He added the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.