Craps Strategies

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Be clever, 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 current craps is approximately a century old. Modern craps evolved from the 12th Century English game referred to as Hazard. Nobody knows for certain the birth of the game, but Hazard is said to have been invented by the Anglo, Sir William of Tyre, around the 12th century. It’s believed that Sir William’s soldiers bet on Hazard through a blockade on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was gotten from the fortress’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Acadia. In the 18th century, when banished by the British, the French relocated south and found sanctuary in the south of Louisiana where they eventually became Cajuns. When they were driven out of Acadia, they brought their preferred game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it mathematically fair. It is said that the Cajuns changed the title to craps, which is gotten from the term for the bad luck throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi river boats and across the nation. Most acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of modern craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He put in place the Do not Pass line so gamblers can wager on the dice to lose. Later, he developed the spots for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.