Be brilliant, play smart, and become versed in craps the correct way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is just about a century old. Current craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s supposed that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard during a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French headed south and found safety in southern Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is gotten from the name of the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A good many consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spaces for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.