Be smart, play clever, and pickup craps the right way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. Nobody knows for sure the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard amid a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French headed south and discovered refuge in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was gotten from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the nation. A good many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.