Be cunning, play smart, and pickup craps the right way!

Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Modern craps evolved from the old English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is believed to have been created by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the name of the non-winning throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and all over the nation. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he created the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.