Craps Tips

Read more about the
Las Vegas 2024 Super
Bowl Streaker!

Be smart, play smart, and master craps the ideal way!

Dice and dice games date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps come about from the 12th Century English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the ancestry of the game, however Hazard is said to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It is presumed that Sir William’s horsemen bet on Hazard through a siege on the fortress Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was derived from the fortification’s name.

Early French colonizers brought the game Hazard to Canada. In the 18th century, when driven away by the British, the French relocated down south and found refuge in southern Louisiana where they eventually became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they brought their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it more mathematically fair. It’s said that the Cajuns altered the title to craps, which is derived from the name of the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, recognized as "crabs."

From Louisiana, the game extended to the Mississippi riverboats and throughout the country. Many acknowledge the dice builder John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In 1907, Winn created the current craps layout. He added the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to lose. Later, he invented the spaces for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.