A standard 52-card French-suited deck comprises 13 ranks in each of the four suits: clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠). Each suit includes three court cards (face cards), King, Queen and Jack, with reversible (i.e. double headed) images. Each suit also includes ten numeral cards or pip cards, from one (Ace) to ten. The card with one pip is known as an Ace. Each pip card displays the number of pips (symbols of the suit) corresponding to its number, as well as the appropriate numeral (except "A" for the Ace) in at least two corners.
In addition, commercial decks often include from one to six Jokers; most commonly two or three since the mid-20th century. The Jokers are often distinguishable from one another, either in design or colour, as some card games require these extra cards.[2][3] The Jokers can also be used as replacements for lost or damaged cards.
There are exactly 52! or 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000 possible arrangements of a standard 52-card deck. (See combinatorics)[4]
English pattern pack by Piatnik of Austria. The English pattern is also known as the Anglo-American or International pattern.
The most popular standard pattern of the French deck is the English pattern[lower-alpha 3] (pictured above), sometimes referred to as the International pattern or Anglo-American pattern.[5] The second most common is the Belgian-Genoese pattern, which was designed in France for export and spread to Spain, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans and much of North Africa and the Middle East.[1] There are also numerous others such as the Berlin pattern, Nordic pattern, Dondorf Rhineland pattern (pictured right) and the variants of the European pattern.
Modern playing cards carry index labels on opposite corners or in all four corners to facilitate identifying the cards when they overlap and so that they appear identical for players on opposite sides. For the Ace and court cards, this label is the initial letter or letters of the name of that card. In English-speaking countries they are lettered A, K, Q and J for Ace, King, Queen and Jack. In other countries the letters may vary, although the English versions are also sometimes used. Germany uses A, K, D and B (Ass,[lower-alpha 4]König, Dame and Bube); Russia uses the Cyrillic letters Т, К, Д and В (Tuz, Korol, Dama and Valet); Sweden uses E, K, D and Kn (Ess, Kung, Dam and Knekt) and France uses 1, R, D, V (As, Roi, Dame, and Valet).
All early playing cards were single headed (also called single ended). During the 19th century, card manufacturers began designing double-headed cards so that the cards could be readily identified whichever way up they were. In the case of court cards, this entailed cutting off the lower half of the image and replacing it with an inverted copy of the top half usually, but not always, with a horizontal or sloping dividing line between the two halves. Today, while single headed patterns of German-suited and Latin-suited cards still exist, modern French-suited cards are invariably double-headed.
Although French-suited, 52-card packs are the most common playing cards used internationally, there are many countries or regions where the traditional pack size is only 36 (Russia, Bavaria) or 32 (north and central Germany, Austria) or where regional cards with smaller packs are preferred for many games. For example, 40- or 48-card Italian-suited packs are common in Italy; 40- and 48-card Spanish-suited packs on the Iberian peninsula; and 36-card German-suited packs are very common in Bavaria and Austria. In addition, tarot cards are required for games such as French Tarot (78 cards), which is widely played in France, and the Tarock family of games (42 or 54 cards) played in countries like Austria and Hungary.
History
The English pattern pack originated in Britain which was importing French playing cards from Rouen and Antwerp by 1480. The earliest cards of the English pattern date to around 1516. But Britain only started manufacturing its own cards towards the end of the 16th century, when card production began in London. These were based on the Rouen pattern, but unlike the traditional French cards, they dropped the names on the court cards. The English pattern evolved, in the process losing "some of its Rouen flavour and elegance and became more and more stylised. The figures took more space in the cards and many details were distorted."[5]
All early cards of this type were single headed, but around 1860, the double-headed cards, universally used on modern decks, appeared. Corner indices were added around 1880. During the 19th century, the English pattern spread all over the world and is now used almost everywhere, even in countries where traditional patterns and other suits are popular. In America, the English pattern was copied onto wider cards.[5]
The fanciful design and manufacturer's logo commonly displayed on the ace of spades began under the reign of James I of England, who passed a law requiring an insignia on that card as proof of payment of a tax on local manufacture of cards. Until August 4, 1960, decks of playing cards printed and sold in the United Kingdom were liable for taxable duty and the ace of spades carried an indication of the name of the printer and the fact that taxation had been paid on the cards.[lower-alpha 5] The packs were also sealed with a government duty wrapper.
Historically the size of playing cards was down to the printer, but during the 19th century sizes became standardised, initially to a size of 3½ x 2½ inches. Today these are often referred to as "wide" cards or "poker-sized" cards. Wider playing cards had advantages: it was harder to cheat and, if packs were unavailable, dog-eared cards could be trimmed smaller. Narrower cards, known as "whist-sized" or "bridge-sized" cards, probably first appeared in Europe and enabled players to handle the larger numbers of cards required for games like bridge.[6][7]
However, there is no formal requirement for precise adherence and minor variations are produced by various manufacturers in different countries.[8] In Germany, for example, standard Poker and Rummy packs by ASS Altenburger and Ravensburger measure 92 × 59 mm.[9] Austria's Piatnik sells packs marketed for Bridge, Poker and Whist measuring 89 × 58 mm;[10] while Britain's Waddingtons produce generic packs sized at 88 × 58 mm.
Other sizes are also available, such as a medium size (usually 67×42mm or 2.6×1.7in) and a miniature size (typically 45×32mm or 1.8×1.3in).[11] These are often intended for playing patience or solitaire games.[11] Larger 'jumbo' cards are produced for card tricks and those with poor eyesight.
The thickness and weight of modern playing cards are subject to numerous variables related to their purpose of use and associated material design for durability, stiffness, texture and appearance.[12]
Markings
Some decks include additional design elements. Casinoblackjack decks may include markings intended for a machine to check the ranks of cards, or shifts in rank location to allow a manual check via an inlaid mirror. Many casino decks and solitaire decks have four indices instead of just two. Some modern decks have bar code markings on the edge of the face to enable them to be sorted by machine (for playing duplicate bridge, especially simultaneous events where the same hands may be played at many different venues). Some decks have large indices for clarity. These are sometimes sold as 'seniors' cards for older people with limited eyesight, but may also be used in games like stud poker, where being able to read cards from a distance is a benefit and hand sizes are small.
The standard French-suited pack uses black for the spades and clubs, and red for the hearts and diamonds. However, some packs use four colours for the suits in order to make it easier to tell them apart. There are several schemes: a common one is the English Poker format with black spades (♠), red hearts (♥), blue diamonds (♦) and green clubs (♣). Another common system is based on the German suits and uses green spades (♠) and yellow diamonds (♦) with red hearts (♥) and black clubs (♣).
Nomenclature
When giving the full written name of a specific card, the rank is given first followed by the suit, e.g., "seven of clubs" or "Seven of Clubs".[lower-alpha 8] Shorthand notation may reflect this by listing the rank first, "7♣︎"; this is common usage when discussing poker; but it is equally common in more general sources to find the suit listed first, as in "♠K" for a single card or "♠AKQ" for multiple cards. This is common practice when writing about bridge as it helps differentiate between the card(s) and the contract (e.g. "4♥", a contract of four hearts). Tens may be either abbreviated to T or written as 10.
Terminology
Common collective and individual terms for playing cards that are relevant, but not exclusive to, the 52-card pack are:
Face card or court card–a jack, queen or king.
Honour card – a card that attracts a special bonus or payment for being held or captured in play.[13] In bridge, honours are the aces, the court cards and tens (A, K, Q, J, 10); in whist and related games, the aces and courts (A, K, Q, J).[14]
Wild card– card that may be designated by the owner to represent any other card.[15]
Numerals or pip cards are the cards numbered from 2 to 10.
Certain cards have acquired nicknames over time. The following common nicknames for cards of the English pattern pack only. Other patterns are different and may have other nicknames in the countries where they are used:
One-eyed Jacks–the jack of spades and the jack of hearts are depicted in profile, while the others are shown in full or oblique face.
One-eyed Royals–are the king of diamonds as well as the one-eyed jacks. The rest of the courts are shown in full or oblique face.
Suicide Kings–The king of hearts is typically shown with a sword behind his head, making him appear to be stabbing himself. Similarly, the one-eyed king of diamonds is typically shown with an axe behind his head with the blade facing toward him. These depictions, and their blood-red colour, inspired this nickname.
The king of diamonds is traditionally armed with an axe, while the other three kings are armed with swords; thus, the king of diamonds is sometimes referred to as "the man with the axe". This is the basis of the trump "one-eyed jacks and the man with the axe". Poker may be played with wild cards, often "Aces, Jacks, and the King with the Axe".
The ace of spades, unique in its large, ornate spade, is sometimes said to be the death card or the picture card, and in some games is used as a trump card.
The queen of spades usually holds a sceptre and is sometimes known as "the bedpost queen", though more often she is called the "black lady". She is the only queen facing right.
In many decks, the queen of clubs holds a flower. She is thus known as the "flower queen", though this design element is among the most variable; the Bicycle Poker deck depicts all queens with a flower styled according to their suit.
Computer representations
SVG
Example set of 52 playing cards; 13 of each suit: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades
As of Unicode 7.0, playing cards are now represented. Note that the following chart ("Cards", Range: 1F0A0–1F0FF) includes cards from the Tarot Nouveau deck, as well as the standard 52-card deck.
↑ Kem Poker cards are close to the B8 (88 x 62 mm) size of ISO 216.
↑ Taken from a pack with a tourist motif, so may have been aimed at American market.
↑ Sources vary as to the capitalisation used with American sources tending to favour lower case and British sources tending towards capitals, but there are numerous exceptions and some sources combine them e.g "Seven of clubs".
Related Research Articles
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home, making it one of the world's most popular card games, particularly among seniors. The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the governing body for international competitive bridge, with numerous other bodies governing it at the regional level.
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including families of related games. A small number of card games played with traditional decks have formally standardized rules with international tournaments being held, but most are folk games whose rules may vary by region, culture, location or from circle to circle.
A stripped deck or short deck (US), short pack or shortened pack (UK), is a set of playing cards reduced in size from a full pack or deck by the removal of a certain card or cards. The removed cards are usually pip cards, but can also be court cards or Tarot cards. Many card games use stripped decks, and stripped decks for popular games are commercially available.
A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a hand centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks, which are each evaluated to determine a winner or taker of that trick. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as contract bridge, whist, and spades, or to the value of the cards contained in taken tricks, as in point-trick games such as pinochle, the tarot family, briscola, and most evasion games like hearts. Trick-and-draw games are trick-taking games in which the players can fill up their hands after each trick. In most variants, players are free to play any card into a trick in the first phase of the game, but must follow suit as soon as the stock is depleted. Trick-avoidance games like reversis or polignac are those in which the aim is to avoid taking some or all tricks.
500 or Five Hundred is a trick-taking game developed in the United States from Euchre. Euchre was extended to a 10 card game with bidding and a Misère contract similar to Russian Preference, producing a cutthroat three-player game like Preference and a four-player game played in partnerships like Whist which is the most popular modern form, although with special packs it can be played by up to six players.
The Minor Arcana, sometimes known as Lesser Arcana, are the suit cards in a cartomantic tarot deck.
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax. Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers. In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.
In playing cards, a suit is one of the categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several pips (symbols) showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or additionally be indicated by the color printed on the card. The rank for each card is determined by the number of pips on it, except on face cards. Ranking indicates which cards within a suit are better, higher or more valuable than others, whereas there is no order between the suits unless defined in the rules of a specific card game. In a single deck, there is exactly one card of any given rank in any given suit. A deck may include special cards that belong to no suit, often called jokers.
Spades is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/"cutthroat" game. The object is to take the number of tricks that were bid before play of the hand began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh Hell. Its major difference as compared to other Whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the Spade suit always trumps, hence the name.
Clubs is one of the four playing card suits in the standard French-suited playing cards. The symbol was derived from that of the suit of Acorns in a German deck when French suits were invented in around 1480.
High card by suit and low card by suit refer to assigning relative values to playing cards of equal rank based on their suit. When suit ranking is applied, the most common conventions from lowest to highest are:
A four-color deck (US) or four-colour pack (UK) is a deck of playing cards identical to the standard French deck except for the color of the suits. In a typical English four-color deck, hearts are red and spades are black as usual, but clubs are green and diamonds are blue. However, other color combinations have been used over the centuries, in other areas or for certain games.
Playing cards have been in Italy since the late 14th century. Until the mid 19th century, Italy was composed of many smaller independent states which led to the development of various regional patterns of playing cards; "Italian suited cards" normally only refer to cards originating from northeastern Italy around the former Republic of Venice, which are largely confined to northern Italy, parts of Switzerland, Dalmatia and southern Montenegro. Other parts of Italy traditionally use traditional local variants of Spanish suits, French suits or German suits.
Spades is one of the four playing card suits in the standard French-suited playing cards. It has the same shape as the leaf symbol in German-suited playing cards but its appearance is more akin to that of an upside down black heart with a stalk at its base. It symbolises the pike or halberd, two medieval weapons, but is actually an adaptation of the German suit symbol of Leaves created when French suits were invented around 1480.
Diamonds is one of the four playing card suits in the standard French-suited playing cards. It is the only French suit to not have been adapted from the German deck, taking the place of the suit of Bells.
The Bourgeois Tarot deck is a mid-19th century pattern of tarot cards of German origin that is used for playing card games in western Europe and Canada. It is not designed for divinatory purposes. This deck is most commonly found in France, Belgian Wallonia, Swiss Romandy and Canadian Québec for playing French Tarot; in southwest Germany for playing Cego and Dreierles; and in Denmark for Danish Tarok.
The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, but apply to a wide range of card games played with non-proprietary packs. It should not include terms solely related to casino or banking games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see Game-specific glossaries.
French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of trèfles, carreaux, cœurs, and piques. Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. In a standard 52-card deck these are the valet, the dame, and the roi (king). In addition, in Tarot packs, there is a cavalier (cavalier) ranking between the queen and the jack. Aside from these aspects, decks can include a wide variety of regional and national patterns, which often have different deck sizes. In comparison to Spanish, Italian, German, and Swiss playing cards, French cards are the most widespread due to the geopolitical, commercial, and cultural influence of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other reasons for their popularity were the simplicity of the suit insignia, which simplifies mass production, and the popularity of whist and contract bridge. The English pattern of French-suited cards is so widespread that it is also known as the International or Anglo-American pattern.
Russian playing cards are cards that were used predominantly in Russia and in the former Soviet Union. Unlike Western games played with a standard French-suited 52-card pack, most Russian card games employ either 36-card packs or 32-card packs.
↑ In a sample of 95 American bridge and poker card sets, lengths ranged from 87.50mm to 89.50mm. In a sample of 28 bridge sized cards, widths varied from 56.98mm to 58.25mm. In a sample of 67 poker sized cards, widths varied from 62.44 to 63.54mm. Reference: Home Poker Tourney website. Playing Card Review, retrieved 2014-02-27.
↑ Poker at ravensburger.de. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
↑ In a sample of 28 bridge-sized cards, the weight of a card varied from 1.8g to 2.48g and thickness from 0.26 mm to 0.34 mm. In a sample of 67 poker-sized cards, the weight of a card varied from 1.4g to 2.78g and thickness from 0.24mm to 0.34mm. Reference: Home Poker Tourney Web site. Playing Card Review, retrieved 2014-02-27.
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