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

Dice and dice games date back to the Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard amid a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the English, the French moved south and settled in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it fair mathematically. It’s said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the losing toss of 2 in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn developed the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.