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.
Texas hold 'em is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in three stages. The stages consist of a series of three cards, later an additional single card, and a final card. Each player seeks the best five-card poker hand from any combination of the seven cards: the five community cards and their two hole cards. Players have betting options to check, call, raise, or fold. Rounds of betting take place before the flop is dealt and after each subsequent deal. The player who has the best hand and has not folded by the end of all betting rounds wins all of the money bet for the hand, known as the pot. In certain situations, a "split pot" or "tie" can occur when two players have hands of equivalent value. This is also called "chop the pot". Texas hold 'em is also the H game featured in HORSE and HOSE.
Nectar is a loyalty card scheme in the United Kingdom run by Nectar 360 Ltd, a company wholly owned by Sainsbury's. The scheme is the largest in the United Kingdom, and comprises a number of partner companies including Sainsbury's, Esso, eBay and British Airways. It launched in 2002 with initially four partner companies, and by 2010 had grown to include over 14 companies and over 400 online retailers. Participating companies cover sectors including travel, retail, finance and newspapers.
A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
The Octopus card is a reusable contactless stored value smart card for making electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. Launched in September 1997 to collect fares for the territory's mass transit system, it has grown into a widely used system for transport and other retail transactions in Hong Kong. It is also used for purposes such as recording school attendance and permitting building access. The cards are used by 98 percent of the population of Hong Kong aged 15 to 64 and the system handles more than 15 million transactions, worth over HK$220 million, every day.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.
Parmjit Singh Dhanda is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester from 2001 until the 2010 general election, succeeding Tess Kingham as the Labour MP for the seat.
Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford is a British politician who most recently served as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime between 2017 and 2023. A member of the Labour Party, Hughes was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council. From 2005 to 2009, she served in the Government as the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families.
Flybuys is an Australian customer loyalty program equally owned by the Coles Group and Wesfarmers through joint venture Loyalty Pacific. Members can accrue points by shopping at Coles Group brands, certain Wesfarmers brands, and some third-party partners like HCF Health Insurance, Coles Express and Optus. Points can then be redeemed for money off purchases at Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express, Liquorland, Kmart, Officeworks, Target and mycar, as well as holidays and household goods.
Capita plc is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London.
PC Optimum is a single loyalty program operated by Canadian retail conglomerate Loblaw Companies; it was created through the merger of Loblaws' PC Plus and Shoppers Drug Mart's Shoppers Optimum programs.
Kevin Denis Brennan is a Welsh Labour politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff West since 2001. He served as a Minister of State at both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families from 2009 to 2010. Brennan held several junior ministerial offices from 2006 to 2009 at the Treasury, Cabinet Office and Department for Children, Schools and Families. In opposition, he served in various shadow ministerial positions from 2010 to 2020 as a Shadow Minister for BIS, Education, and Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). He has been Shadow Minister for Victims and Sentencing since September 2023.
Loyalty marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing, and loyalty marketing all form part of the customer proposition – the subjective assessment by the customer of whether to purchase a brand or not based on the integrated combination of the value they receive from each of these marketing disciplines.
Damian Patrick George Hinds is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Schools since November 2023. He previously served as Secretary of State for Education under Theresa May from 2018 to 2019 and has held junior ministerial positions under four Prime Ministers. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Hampshire since 2010.
A credit card is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing its users to purchase goods or services or withdraw cash on credit. Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world.
Ranelagh School is a Church of England day school in Berkshire close to the centre of Bracknell. The school was founded by Lord Ranelagh in 1709.
Patrick Beverley is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Originally from Chicago's West Side, Beverley played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He spent the first five years of his pro career overseas, playing in Ukraine, Greece, and Russia. In January 2013, he joined the NBA, signing with the Houston Rockets.
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham is a British politician and former diplomat who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the British consul general in Macao from 1989 to 1992, prior to joining the banking sector.
The NolCard is an electronic ticketing card developed by Hong Kong-based company Octopus Cards Limited that was released for all modes of public transport services in Dubai in August 2009.
Card money was in use in New France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Official money cards were embossed with a fleur-de-lis and the signatures of the intendant, governor, and treasurer. Private cards would also use the fleur-de-lis and the signature of its debtor. Card money was generally issued, at least initially, in emergency situations when minted currency was in low supply, however over time "playing cards" became more popular and the standard tender. An estimated two million livres in card money is thought to have circulated prior to the British take over of New France territory in the 1760s.
