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

Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the ancient English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers wagered on Hazard amid a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French relocated south and discovered safety in the south of Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and across the nation. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the founder of modern craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps setup. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to not win. Later, he created the spots for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.