Craps TipsBeginner Craps Tips

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

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

Dice and dice games date all the way back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but current craps is only about 100 years old. Modern craps developed from the 12th Century Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the 12th century. It’s presumed that Sir William’s knights enjoyed Hazard amid a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The title Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 1700s, when banished by the British, the French moved down south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they left Acadia, they brought their favored game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns streamlined the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which was acquired from the term for the non-winning throw of 2 in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and throughout the nation. A few acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the founder of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the current craps layout. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he designed the boxes for Place wagers and put in place the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.