[ English ]

Be cunning, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the correct way!

Dice and dice games goes back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps developed from the old English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers enjoyed Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French headed down south and discovered safety in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and throughout the country. Many consider the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He created the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.