Be smart, play smart, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but current craps is approximately a century old. Current craps developed from the old Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, however Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is believed that Sir William’s soldiers gambled on Hazard through a blockade on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the castle’s name.
Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when exiled by the British, the French headed south and settled in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was acquired from the term for the bad luck toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi scows and across the country. A good many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In 1907, Winn built the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so players could wager on the dice to lose. Later, he established the spots for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
This entry was posted on October 27, 2026, 1:25 pm and is filed under Craps. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.