Be cunning, play cunning, and discover how to play craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about one hundred years old. Modern craps come about from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the ancestry of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the term for the losing throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Most acknowledge the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Later, he invented the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.