Be clever, play clever, and learn how to play craps the proper way!

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s soldiers played Hazard amid a siege on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when expelled by the British, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and all over the country. Many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he created the spots for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.