Be clever, play clever, and master craps the proper way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the ancient Anglo game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is said to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s paladins played Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.
Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved south and found sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they a while later became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is acquired from the name of the bad luck throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He appended the Do not Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he designed the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.