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Be clever, play clever, and discover how to play craps the right way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is just about a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard through a siege on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the citadel’s name.

Early French settlers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favored game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was derived from the name of the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and throughout the nation. A great many think the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he designed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.