Be cunning, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard through a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French moved south and discovered refuge in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which was acquired from the name of the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and across the country. Many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps setup. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the spaces for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
