Be brilliant, play brilliant, and become versed in craps the proper way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Crusades, but modern craps is just about one hundred years old. Current craps formed from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the beginnings of the game, although Hazard is said to have been made up by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French moved down south and located sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it fair mathematically. It is said that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the non-winning toss of two in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Most think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In 1907, Winn designed the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers could wager on the dice to not win. Later, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.