Be smart, play smart, and pickup craps the correct way!
Dice and dice games goes back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Modern craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been discovered by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the twelfth century. It’s theorized that Sir William’s horsemen gambled on Hazard during a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists brought the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when displaced by the British, the French moved down south and discovered sanctuary in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they fled Acadia, they brought their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is gotten from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. A few think the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In 1907, Winn assembled the modern craps layout. He added the Do not Pass line so gamblers could bet on the dice to lose. Afterwords, he established the boxes for Place bets and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.