Craps Strategies

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

Dice and dice games goes all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps formed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one absolutely knows the beginnings of the game, however Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, sometime in the 12th century. It is supposed that Sir William’s paladins wagered on Hazard during a blockade on the citadel Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved down south and located safety in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns simplified the game and made it fair mathematically. It is believed that the Cajuns altered the name to craps, which was gotten from the name of the non-winning toss of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. A few consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He created the Do not Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he created the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.