Top 10 Things to Know About Playing Cards
A deck of cards consists of a set of different playing cards. A stack of cards made of printed cardboard is one of the oldest and simplest play equipment. At the same time, playing cards allow numerous games, games of chance and card tricks.
But what do you know about the playing cards themselves? We reveal ten interesting facts about playing cards and their use in the casino.
Interesting facts about the card game
A set of playing cards, also known as a “card deck”, fits in every pocket and is an occasion for sociable rounds of games or amazing card magic. Playing cards are the prerequisite for such successful games of chance as blackjack and poker, as they are known and loved in casinos and casinos around the world.
The cards themselves are just as fascinating as the game itself. Learn here what casino playing cards are all about.
How many cards does a deck have?
A deck of cards with a French hand has 52 playing cards. The card game with 52 cards was already known in the 13th century. The card deck number of playing cards results from the number cards 1 to 10 and the three court cards. With the four colors of hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds, the result is a 52 card game: 4 x 13 = 52.
The exact reason for the widespread use of the French paper is not known, but it is generally believed that French and British colonial troops introduced the paper with 52 cards.
Which playing cards are used in the casino?
Casinos and casinos often use playing cards made of plastic or at least cardboard with a plastic coating.
There are two reasons for this: the cards are more resistant and therefore more durable, and it is more difficult to damage or mark the playing cards. Nevertheless, depending on usage, the decks of cards are changed comparatively more frequently.
In the casino, the Anglo-American hand is often used with the English names of the picture cards: J for Jack, the Jack, Q for Queen, the Queen. Poker cards use a larger index, meaning larger numbers and letters. This makes it easier to recognize hole cards and community cards.
The classic French sheet is 88 millimeters high and 56 millimeters wide. The poker hand is slightly wider at 63 millimeters. This makes the cards more handy and offers more space for the symbols. The width does not interfere with the game, as the players usually left the cards face down on the table.
In US casinos, a four-color deck is also common in poker, the so-called four-color deck. Here really four different colors represent the four colors of the leaf: olive green for cross, orange or blue for diamonds. In online poker, players can usually choose between a classic display and the four-color deck in the settings.
Where were the playing cards invented?
The forerunners of the playing cards come from Asia. Printed paper was already available in China more than 2,000 years ago.
One type of card game existed in China and Korea around the 12th century, and in all likelihood it was a game of chance. The playing cards came via India and Persia to the Arab countries and from there to Europe.
While in China they played with elongated, narrow and striped cards, in India almost round playing cards were used. Playing cards were known in Italy and France around the 14th century.
However, western inventions could also have influenced the development of European playing cards.
What is the meaning of the colors and symbols on playing cards?
The four colors of the French hand are clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds and are represented by two black and two red symbols.
Cross is modeled on a shamrock. The French word for clover is “trèfle”, which is why the cross sometimes also means a meeting point, especially in Austria.
Pik comes from the pikemen or pike, but the Germans also speak of the shovel or shovel due to the shape of the symbol. The diamond-shaped diamond symbol is called "corners" by some.
The so-called German sheet names the colors acorn, leaves, heart and bells. There are countless regional versions with different names and different designs.
The court cards Jack, Queen and King depict famous personalities from history and mythology:
- King of the Cross: Alexander the Great
- King of Spades: David
- King of Hearts: Charlemagne
- King of Diamonds: Julius Caesar
- Cross lady: Roman goddess Juno
- Queen of Spades: Greek goddess Pallas Athene
- Lady of Hearts: Judith from the Bible
- Queen of Diamonds: Rachel from the Bible
- Jack of Clubs: Knight Lancelot
- Jack of Spades: Knight Holger Danske
- Jack of Hearts: Étienne de Vignolles, companion of Joan of Arc
- Jack of Diamonds: Hector of Troy
What is the collectible value of card games?
One of the rarest and oldest card games in the world, consisting of the monastery playing cards, is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The cards come from the Netherlands and were handcrafted in 1475-80. A collector acquired the set in 1970 and later sold the card game to the museum for $ 143,000. A card game in the Turkish Topkapu Museum in Istanbul also claims to be the oldest in the world.
Rare and unusual playing cards are popular with collectors and, if they are in good condition, can achieve five-digit and higher prices, depending on age and condition. In Germany there is the German Playing Card Museum, which is part of the Württemberg State Museum. Important collections and around 15,000 card games are exhibited here, such as the extensive Asian-Indian playing card collection, one of the largest in the world.
Which card game uses which playing cards?
Playing cards with the French hand are usually used in the casino. Poker uses large index playing cards.
- Black Jack: The card game Black Jack , popular in the casino, uses several packets of French playing cards.
- Bridge: Rummy, Bridge and Canasta use two card games with a French hand with three jokers each, for a total of 110 hands. By sorting out the unneeded cards, this hand can be used to play many different games.
- Poker: The poker hand corresponds to the French hand, but often has a large index and can be designed as a four-color deck. Poker is usually played without a joker, but jokers can be included so that the hand can also be used for bridge and other games.
- Baccarat: The casino card game uses the French hand, but the cards have no index and a plain back with no pattern.
- Skat: There are 32 cards in the hand with values from bottom to top: 7, 8, 9, queen, king, 10, ace and above the four jacks of diamonds, hearts, spades, clubs.
- Jass: The card game widespread in Switzerland uses a hand with 36 cards and values 6 to 10, above that jack, queen, king, ace.
What are marked playing cards?
Zinken is a crook term for characters. Marked playing cards are therefore marked or marked playing cards. Fraudsters and card tricksters use marked playing cards to gain an advantage or to perform card tricks.
Marked cards can be caused by misprints or damage to the cards that occurs over time.
A fraudster notices, for example, irregularities on the back, a kinked corner or missing ink. Prongs or markings can also be applied by yourself, for example with the smallest of lines, markings or scratches.
In order to mark all cards, a French sheet would theoretically require 52 different characters. Tines are therefore mainly attached to the higher-value cards or picture cards.
The cardsharp has an advantage if he can see which card is dealt which game or which value is hidden behind a face-down card.
How are playing cards shuffled and dealt in the casino?
A properly shuffled deck of cards is essential for fair play.
Overhand shuffling is a common method of shuffling a deck of cards. However, experienced and skilled people can easily cheat here by holding cards in a certain position in the pile. A fair and transparent method is therefore to "root" the cards and distribute them on the table.
However, since this looks messy, casinos and gaming houses use machines to shuffle the cards. The cards are issued from a card slide in which the cards are located after they have been shuffled.
With the card sledge there is no need to “lift” the stack, but depending on the game there are so-called “burn cards”: a card is sorted out when it is dealt.
Who makes playing cards?
ASS Altenburger is the market leader for playing cards in Germany. The Altenburger and Stralsund playing card factory produces millions of different decks of cards every year. Since 2002 the company has been part of the international playing card manufacturer Cartamundi based in Belgium.
In the USA, the largest manufacturer is USPCC, The United States Playing Card Company. The company has existed since 1867 and is based in Kentucky. Poker chips as well as the brands Bicycle, Bee, Tally-Ho, Hoyle, Aviator and Aristocrat belong to USPCC.
In 2019, the Cartamundi Group also took over The United States Playing Card Company. Cartamundi is thus the world's largest manufacturer of playing cards, with production facilities in several countries and worldwide sales.
What is the lifespan of cards in the casino?
As a rule of thumb, a set of playing cards can survive a maximum of 24 hours in a casino.
In Las Vegas and other venues with a high number of players and a lot of activity at the gaming tables, the average lifespan of the game types drops to 12 hours. But it can also happen that cards are exchanged after four hours of use, for example in poker.
On special occasions, at VIP tables or in tournaments, it can also happen that a single card game is only used for one game round or for a short period of time before an exchange takes place.
The reason is wear and tear. Regardless of the material used, scratches, bulges, kinks and damage can occur over time.
As a result, individual cards are marked and a fair course of play is no longer guaranteed if players memorize the corresponding cards and use them to their advantage. In addition, there have been cases of invisible ink or paint fraud in the past.
The casino carefully checks discarded playing cards for completeness. The card games withdrawn from circulation are mostly destroyed by shredding. Well-known casinos also sell playing cards. Before that, however, these are marked or perforated so that players cannot smuggle these cards back into the casino.
Sources:
- https://www.ipcs.org/
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/475513?=&imgno=0&tabname=label
- https://casinova.org/video-poker/