Set of 52 French style playing cards with two jokers
A playing card is a typically hand-sized rectangular (in India, round) piece of heavy paper or thin plastic used for playing card games. A complete set of cards is a pack or deck. Playing cards are often used as props in magic tricks, as well as occult practices such as cartomancy, and a number of card 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 cards made specifically for collectible trading card games). Specialty and novelty decks are commonly produced for collectors, often with political, cultural, or educational themes. One side of each card (the “front” or “face”) carries markings that distinguish it from the others and determine its use under the rules of the particular game being played, while the other side (the “back”) is identical for all cards, usually a plain color or abstract design. In most games, the 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 game.
Some typical Anglo-American playing cards from the Bicycle brand
Reference
- Parlett, David. The Oxford Guide to Card Games. 1990. ISBN 0-19-214165-1.
Paul Cézanne – The Card Players, 1895
Links
References and further information
- Information on card games at www.pagat.com
- Online Tarot and Playing Card Museum
- Playing Cards Online
- Names of the court cards
- History of the design of the court cards
- Courts on playing cards
- Andy’s Playing Cards
- Manchester University research
Major manufacturers
Resources
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
