Play poker (cards)

A play poker card is a typically hand-sized rectangular (in India, round) piece of heavy paper or thin plastic used for play poker card play poker games. A complete set of play poker cards is a pack or deck. Play poker cards are often used as props in magic tricks, as well as occult practices such as cartomancy, and a number of play poker card play poker games involve (or can be used to support) gambling. As a result, their use sometimes meets with disapproval from some religious groups (such as conservative Christians). They are also a popular collectible (as distinct from the play poker cards made specifically for collectible trading play poker card games). Specialty and novelty play poker card decks are commonly produced for collectors, often with political, cultural, or educational themes.

One side of each play poker card (the "front" or "face") carries markings that distinguish it from the others and determine its use under the rules of the particular play poker game being played, while the other side (the "back") is identical for all play poker cards, usually a plain color or abstract design. In most play poker games, the play poker cards are assembled into a "deck" (or "pack"), and their order is randomized by a procedure called "shuffling" to provide an element of chance in the play poker game.

History

Early history

The origin of play poker cards is obscure, but it is almost certain that they began in China after the invention of paper. Ancient Chinese "money play poker cards" have four "suits": coins (or cash), strings of coins (which may have been misinterpreted as sticks from crude drawings), myriads of strings, and tens of myriads. These were represented by ideograms, with numerals of 2-9 in the first three suits and numerals 1-9 in the "tens of myriads". Wilkinson suggests in The Chinese origin of play poker cards (http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~museum/Archive/Wilkinson/Wilkinson.html) that the first play poker cards may have been actual paper currency which were both the tools of gaming and the stakes being played for. The designs on modern Mahjong tiles and dominoes likely evolved from those earliest play poker cards. The Chinese word p'ai is used to describe both paper play poker cards and gaming tiles.

The time and manner of the introduction of play poker cards into Europe are matters of dispute. The 38th canon of the council of Worcester (1240) is often quoted as evidence of play poker cards having been known in England in the middle of the 13th century; but the play poker games de rege et regina there mentioned are now thought to more likely have been 1278, it is very remarkable that Boccaccio, Chaucer and other writers of that time specifically refer to various play poker games, but there is not a single passage in their works that can be fairly construed to refer to play poker cards. Passages have been quoted from various works, of or relative to this period, but modern research leads to the supposition that the word rendered play poker cards has often been mistranslated or interpolated.

It is likely that the ancestors of modern play poker cards arrived in Europe from the Mamelukes of Egypt in the late 1300s, by which time they had already assumed a form very close to those in use today. In particular, the Mameluke deck contained 52 play poker cards comprising four "suits": polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten "spot" play poker cards (play poker cards identified by the number of suit symbols or "pips" they show) and three "court" play poker cards named malik (King), nā'ib malik (Viceroy or Deputy King), and thānī nā'ib (Second or Under-Deputy). The Mameluke court play poker cards showed abstract designs not depicting persons (at least not in any surviving specimens) though they did bear the names of military officers. A complete pack of Mameluke play poker cards was discovered by L.A. Mayer in the Topkapi Sarayi Museum, Istanbul, in 1939; this particular complete pack was not made before 1400, but the complete deck allowed matching to a private fragment dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century. There is some evidence to suggest that this deck may have evolved from an earlier 48-play poker card deck that had only two court play poker cards per suit, and some further evidence to suggest that earlier Chinese play poker cards brought to Europe may have travelled to Persia, which then influenced the Mameluke and other Egyptian play poker cards of the time before their reappearance in Europe.

It is not known whether these play poker cards influenced the design of the Indian play poker cards used for the play poker game of Ganjifa, or whether the Indian play poker cards may have influenced these. Regardless, the Indian play poker cards have many distinctive features: they are round, generally hand painted with intricate designs, and comprise more than four suits (often as many as twelve).

Spread across Europe and early design changes of play cards

In the late 1300s, the use of play poker cards spread rapidly across Europe. The first widely accepted references to play poker cards are in 1371 in Spain, in 1377 in Switzerland, and, in 1380, they are referenced in many locations including Florence, Paris, and Barcelona. A Paris ordinance dated 1369 does not mention play poker cards; its 1377 update includes play poker cards. In the account-books of Johanna, duchess of Brabant, and her husband, Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, there is an entry dated May 14, 1379 as follows: "Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forms, value eight and a half moutons, wherewith to buy a pack of play poker cards". An early mention of a distinct series of play poker cards is the entry of Charles or Charbot Poupart, treasurer of the household of Charles VI of France, in his book of accounts for 1392 or 1393, which records payment for the painting of three sets or packs of play poker cards, which were evidently already well known.

It is clear that the earliest play poker cards were executed by hand, like those designed for Charles VI. However, this was quite expensive, so other means were needed to mass-produce them. It is possible that the art of wood engraving, which led to the art of printing, developed because of the demand for implements of play. If the assumption is true that the play poker cards of that period were printed from wood blocks, the early play poker card makers or play poker cardpainters of Ulm, Nuremberg, and Augsburg, from about 1418 to 1450, were most likely also wood engravers.

Many early woodcuts were colored using a stencil, so it would seem that the art of depicting and coloring figures by means of stencil plates was well known when wood engraving was first introduced. No play poker cards engraved on wood exist whose creation can be confirmed as early 1423 (the earliest-dated wood engraving generally accepted). However, in this period professional play poker card makers were established in Germany, so it is probable that wood engraving was employed to produce cuts for sacred subjects before it was applied to play poker cards, and that there were hand-painted and stencilled play poker cards before there were wood engravings of saints. The German Brief maler or play poker card-painter probably progressed into the wood engraver; but there is no proof that the earliest wood engravers were the play poker card-makers.

The Europeans experimented with the structure of play poker cards, particularly in the 1400s. Europeans changed the court play poker cards to represent European royalty and attendants, originally "king", "chevalier", and "knave" (or "servant"). Queens were introduced in a number of different ways. In an early surviving German pack (dated in the 1440s), Queens replace Kings in two of the suits as the highest play poker card. Throughout the 1400s, 56-play poker card decks containing a King, Queen, Knight, and Valet were common. Suits also varied; many makers saw no need to have a standard set of names for the suits, so early decks often had different suit names (though typically 4 suits). The play poker cards manufactured by German printers used the suits of hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns still present in Eastern and Southeastern German decks today used for Skat and other play poker games. Later Italian and Spanish play poker cards of the 15th century used swords, batons, cups, and coins. It is likely that the Tarot deck was invented in Italy at that time, though it is often mistakenly believed to have been imported into Europe by Gypsies. While originally (and still in some places, notably Europe) used for the play poker game of Tarocchi, the Tarot deck today is more often used for cartomancy and other occult practices. This probably came about in the 1780s, when occult philosophers mistakenly associated the symbols on Tarot play poker cards with Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The four suits (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs) now used in most of the world originated in France, approximately in 1480. These suits have generally prevailed because decks using them could be made more cheaply; the former suits were all drawings which had to be reproduced by woodcuts, but the French suits could be made by stencil. The trèfle, so named for its resemblance to the trefoil leaf, was probably copied from the acorn; the pique similarly from the leaf of the German suits, while its name derived from the sword of the Italian suits. It is not derived from its resemblance to a pike head, as commonly supposed. In England the French suits were used, and are named hearts, clubs (corresponding to trèfle, the French symbol being joined to the Italian name, bastoni), spades (corresponding to the French pique, but having the Italian name, spade=sword) and diamonds. This confusion of names and symbols is accounted for by Chatto thus:

"If play poker cards were actually known in Italy and Spain in the latter part of the 14th century, it is not unlikely that the play poker game was introduced into this country by some of the English soldiers who had served under Hawkwood and other free captains in the wars of Italy and Spain. However this may be, it seems certain that the earliest play poker cards commonly used in this country were of the same kind, with respect to the marks of the suits, as those used in Italy and Spain."

Court play poker cards have likewise undergone some changes in design and name. Early court play poker cards were elaborate full-length figures; the French in particular often gave them the names of particular heroes and heroines from history and fable. A prolific manufacturing center in the 1500s was Rouen, which originated many of the basic design elements of court play poker cards still present in modern decks. It is likely that the Rouennais play poker cards were popular imports in England, establishing their design as standard there, though other designs became more popular in Europe (particularly in France, where the Parisian design became standard). Rouen courts are traditionally named as follows: the kings of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs are David, Alexander, Caesar, and Charles (Charlemagne), respectively. The knaves (or "jacks"; French "valet") are Hector (prince of Troy), La Hire (comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc), Ogier (a knight of Charlemagne), and Judas Maccabeus (who led the Jewish rebellion against the Syrians). The queens are Pallas (warrior goddess; equivalent to the Greek Athena or Roman Minerva), Rachel (biblical mother of Joseph), Argine (the origin of which is obscure; it is an anagram of regina, which is Latin for queen), and Judith (from Book of Judith). Parisian tradition uses the same names, but assigns them to different suits: the kings of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs are David, Charles, Caesar, and Alexander; the queens are Pallas, Judith, Rachel, and Argine; the knaves are Ogier, La Hire, Hector, and Judas Maccabee. Oddly, the Parisian names have become more common in modern use, even with play poker cards of Rouennais design.

Later design changes of play poker cards

In early play poker games the kings were always the highest play poker card in their suit. However, as early as the late 1400s special significance began to be placed on the nominally lowest play poker card, now called the Ace, so that it sometimes became the highest play poker card and the Two, or Deuce, the lowest. This concept may have been hastened in the late 1700s by the French Revolution, where play poker games began being played "ace high" as a symbol of lower classes rising in power above the royalty. The term "Ace" itself comes from a dicing term in Anglo-Norman language, which is itself derived from the Latin as (the smallest unit of coinage). Another dicing term, trey (3), sometimes shows up in play poker card play poker games.

Corner and edge indices appeared in the mid-1800s, which enabled people to hold their play poker cards close together in a fan with one hand (instead of the two hands previously used). Before this time, the lowest court play poker card in an English deck was officially termed the Knave, but its abbreviation ("Kn") was too similar to the King ("K"). However, from the 1600s on the Knave had often been termed the Jack, a term borrowed from the play poker game All Fours where the Knave of trumps is termed the Jack. All Fours was considered a low-class play poker game, so the use of the term Jack at one time was considered vulgar. The use of indices changed the formal name of the lowest court play poker card to Jack.

This was followed by the innovation of reversible court play poker cards. Reversible court play poker cards meant that players would not be tempted to make upside-down court play poker cards right side up. Before this, other players could often get a hint of what other players' hands contained by watching them reverse their play poker cards. This innovation required abandoning some of the design elements of the earlier full-length courts.

The joker is an American innovation. Created for the Alsatian play poker game of Euchre, it spread to Europe from America along with the spread of Play poker (although its use in play poker has largely faded). Although the joker play poker card often bears the image of a fool, which is one of the images of the Tarot deck, it is not believed that there is any relation. In contemporary decks, one of the two jokers is often more colorful or more intricately detailed than the other, though this feature is not used in most play poker card play poker games. The two jokers are often differentiated as "Big" and "Little," or more commonly, "Red" and "Black." In many play poker card play poker games the jokers are not used. Unlike face play poker cards, the design of jokers varies widely. Many manufacturers use them to carry trademark designs.

Play poker cards today

Anglo-American play cards

The primary deck of fifty-four play poker cards in use today, called Anglo-American play poker cards, includes thirteen ranks of each of the four English suits, spades (♠), hearts (♥), diamonds (♦) and clubs (♣); reversible Rouennais court play poker cards; and two often distinguishable Jokers, with one being more colorful than the other. Each suit includes an ace, depicting a single symbol of its suit; a king, queen, and jack, each depicted with a symbol of its suit; and ranks two through ten, with each play poker card depicting that many symbols (pips) of its suit. Modern play poker cards carry index labels on opposite corners (rarely, all four corners) to facilitate identifying the play poker cards when they overlap. The Queen of Hearts is believed to be a representation of Elizabeth of York - the Queen consort of King Henry VII of England.

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 play poker card as proof of payment of a tax on local manufacture of play poker cards. Until August 4, 1960, decks of play poker 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 play poker cards. The packs were also sealed with a government duty wrapper.

Though specific design elements of the court play poker cards are rarely used in play poker game play, a few are notable. The jack of spades and jack of hearts are drawn in profile, while the rest of the courts are shown in full face, leading to the former being called the "one-eyed" jacks. When deciding which play poker cards are to be made wild in some play poker games, the phrase, "acey, deucey, one-eyed jack," is sometimes used, which means that aces, twos, and the one-eyed jacks are all wild. The king of hearts is shown with a broadsword behind his head, leading to the nickname "suicide king". The Ace of Spades, unique in its large, ornate spade, is sometimes said to be the death play poker card, and in some play poker games is used as a trump play poker card.

Play poker cards are usually a standard size called bridge size. Some decks are somewhat wider and are called play poker size. Larger or smaller decks are available, but are used mostly for play poker card tricks.

Some decks include additional design elements. Casino blackjack decks may include markings intended for a machine to check the ranks of play poker cards. Many casino decks have four indices instead of the usual two. Many decks have large indices, largely for use in stud play poker play poker games, where being able to read play poker cards from a distance is a benefit and hand sizes are small.

An Anglo-American four-color deck exists. It has different colors for its suits, but it is not in wide use.

When relevant, most modern play poker card play poker games follow the bridge ranking of suits, i.e. spades are highest, followed by hearts, diamonds, and clubs. A common mnemonic to recall this ranking is reverse alphabetical order.

When giving the full written name of a specific play poker card, the rank is given first followed by the suit, e.g., "Ace of Spades". Shorthand notation may list the rank first "A♠" (as is typical when discussing play poker) or list the suit first (as is typical in listing several play poker cards in bridge) "♠AKQ". Tens are sometimes abbreviated to T.

500, and some other play poker games, require extended standard decks with extra spot play poker cards (in the case of 500, 11's, 12's, and red 13's).

German and Austrian play poker cards

German and Austrian suits may have different appearances. For instance, many German decks have yellow or orange diamonds and green spades. Many southern Germans and Austrians prefer decks with hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns (for hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs), as mentioned above.

Spanish play cards

Spain has a special deck (called Brisca) with four suits, but they are termed differently. The suits are called Bastos (clubs), Oros (golds) Espadas (spades) and Copa (cups). This deck is used not only in Spain but in other countries where Spain maintaned an influence, (eg. Philippines, Puerto Rico)1 (http://www.pagat.com/class/latin.html).

Japanese play poker cards

The standard 54-play poker card deck is also commonly known as a play poker deck or—in Japan—a Trump deck, to differentiate it from "dedicated" play poker card play poker games such as UNO or Froop!, or other dynamic play poker card decks like Hanafuda.

Play poker card symbols in Unicode

The Unicode standard defines 8 characters for play poker card suits, from U+2660 to U+2667:

♠ ♡ ♢ ♣ ♤ ♥ ♦ ♧

Reference

• Parlett, David. The Oxford Guide to Play poker card Play poker games. 1990. ISBN 0-19-214165-1.

Play poker card magicians and gambling authorities

• Allan Ackerman
• Lennart Green
• Ed Marlo
• Darwin Ortiz
• John Scarne
• Juan Tamariz

See also

• Play poker card game
• Play poker card magic
• House of play poker cards
• one-way deck
• play poker card sharp
• stripped deck

External links

• Play poker Extras
• International Play poker card Society 
• Play poker cards Online 
• United States Play poker card Company 
• Alida, special & rare play poker cards 
• Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) play poker cards. Licensed under the LGPL 
• Names of the court play poker cards 
• History of the design of the court play poker cards 
• Courts on play poker cards 
• Brisca website 
• Four-Color card Decks 
• Andy's Play poker cards 

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