Craps Strategies

Be smart, play clever, and become versed in craps the right way!

Games that use dice and the dice themselves goes all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is only about 100 years old. Current craps come about from the old English game called Hazard. Nobody absolutely knows the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It is presumed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard through a siege 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 Canada. In the 18th century, when exiled by the English, the French moved south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the name to craps, which was derived from the term for the non-winning throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi barges and throughout the country. A great many think the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the modern craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he invented the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.