Playing cards: history, types, meaning

Poker, blackjack, baccarat are impossible without a deck of cards. They were played by monarchs and clergy, merchants, artisans, aristocrats and ordinary people. The history of cards, their evolution, periodic bans on gambling by the state and the church only strengthened interest in this type of entertainment. Who, when and how invented the card deck and what cards are used in casinos, will tell our site.

• Origin of cards
• What are the decks
• Meaning of cards
• Decks popular in Russia
• What cards are used in casinos

Origin of cards

There is no single scientific theory about where and when the card game was invented. And such a deck, which is familiar to modern players, was not formed immediately. Initially, instead of paper sheets used wooden and metal plates, pieces of leather and bone tablets with drawings of animals, weapons and coins. Similar cards for the game are found in at least three ancient civilizations of the world:

• China.In manuscripts from 886 A.D., there is mention of Princess Tong Cheng and her game with sheets. Originally, flat oblong-shaped wooden plates were used instead of paper. Cards, more similar to modern ones, have been known in the Celestial Empire since the 12th century. Also in China was invented the game of mahjong. In its principle it remotely resembles poker, it uses dice of three suits with a number from one to nine.
• Egypt.In this civilization used thin tablets with the image of objects that resemble modern suits. Egypt is considered the birthplace of cards and tarology. According to this version, the secrets of the creation of the universe, the ancient Egyptian priests encoded on tablets of pure gold. Part of the images over time transformed into playing cards, twenty-two tablets are used exclusively for divination on tarot. True, scientific confirmation of this hypothesis has no.
• India.Ancient cards ganjifa had an oval shape. On them are drawn animals, flowers, weapons, household items, as well as the god Shiva with various symbols in his hands. These images also remotely resemble card suits.

In European chronicles, the mention of cards dates back to the 14th century. In 1367 in Bern even imposed a church taboo on gambling entertainment of this kind, because the envoy of the Pope who arrived in the city found a party of monks and considered this activity unworthy of the clergy. According to another version, the first deck was drawn at the court of the French king in the 90s of the XIV century.

The spread of cards was facilitated by the fact that they are small in size and did not require a special playing field, like chess, for example. The deck was easy to take when traveling. Each country introduced its own innovations to the game.

Initially, there were no ladies in the cards, and instead the junior jack was used

Originally, the cards did not have ladies, but instead used the low jack.

Familiar to players two-headed cards (the same image at the top and bottom) appeared in the 30s of the XIX century. They were invented to make it easier to read the layout in their hands, without illuminating it to the opponents. Before that, the figures were drawn full-length.

Another thirty years later, indices appeared – depicting the dignity of cards with numbers and letters. Although now an international classification has been adopted. Depending on the country, the index may differ. In the Russian template, the ace is denoted by the capital letter T, and in the Western – A (Ace). The king everywhere has the index K, and in the French version – R (Roi).

What decks are available

VEuropecards became very popular and spread to almost all countries. To each region came up with original games and endemic variations of decks. They differed in the number of sheets, as well as the name and image of suits, the number of which remained unchanged: there are always four.

Italian-Spanish

Here, each region used a different deck with a different number of sheets. In the Venetian version there were 78 of them, in Bologna they played with 62 units. In Florence there were as many as 98 cards. The most common Italian game deck consisted of 50 pieces. In it, the numerical values began with a one and ended with a nine. Among the senior cards were a page and a knight, a king, as well as a joker, created in the image of a court jester.

German

The Germanic deck was a transformation of the Italian-Spanish pattern. Until the 16th century, it had a king, queen, ober and non-commissioned officer. Then the lady was abandoned. The senior cards remained four: ace, king, two officers. The ace of diamonds (diamonds) was often represented by a boar. Another distinctive feature of the German deck – suits of different colors. The clubs are black, the spades are green, the hearts are red and the diamonds are yellow.

Until the middle of the XIX century there were 48 cards in the deck, now there are 32 cards in it.

Swiss

This local variant developed from the Germanic pattern. It differs primarily in suits: clubs are acorns, spades are shields, hearts are roses, diamonds are bells. The deck was played in northeastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

French

The French are known to the world not only as trendsetters. Thanks to them, the deck acquired a modern look. Here was invented the Parisian pattern, which consisted of an ace, a king, a queen and a jack.

The country invented double-headed cards and indices. It was also the first time they started using only black and red colors to represent suits

The country invented double-headed cards and indexes. It was also the first time that only black and red colors were used to represent the suits.

Unlike all other variants, French senior cards had real prototypes. Each lady also corresponded to some historical image. For example, the Queen of Spades is Joan of Arc. In some versions of decks, she is depicted in the form of the ancient Greek goddess Athena. Queen of Diamonds – the biblical character Rachel, hearts – Judith. The Jack of the Cross symbolized the knight Lancelot of the Lake, the Jack of Diamonds – his brother, Hector de Mare. The prototypes of the characters could change, but were almost always signed.

After the Revolution, French monarchs disappeared from the images. They were replaced by the images: “Genius of War”, “Genius of Peace”, “Genius of Art”.

There is a version about biblical origin of suits. Thus, clubs in the deck symbolize the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Hearts are the heart of Christ. Spades is a spear that was used to pierce him, and diamonds is a sponge used to quench Jesus’ thirst.

A modern standard deck consists of 54 sheets of four suits. They contain small value cards from deuce to ten, jack, queen, king and ace, and two jokers. Variants:

• Abbreviated 36-sheet deck: from sixes to aces.
• Small 32-card deck: starting with sevens.

Which deck to use depends on the rules of the game. A full deck is chosen for poker, a shortened one for Fool’s game. Small deck is most often used in preference. To play Thousand, for example, you need 24 cards from nines to aces.

Meaning of the cards

The card deck is a prototype of the state, in which there is a king, a queen, officers (jacks) and ordinary citizens. The first traditionally holds a symbol of power – a scepter or orb, as well as a sword. The jack is also depicted with a weapon. He may be holding a sword, sword, or halberd.

Ace in the deck is depicted in the form of the letter A English, Russian T. In the French version – with the number 1. There is a legend that before the revolution, the ace occupied an ordinary place, but after the overthrow of the monarchy became the most senior in the deck. In reality, this version does not correspond to the truth. Depending on the game, the card can be either the oldest or the youngest.

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The tradition of decorating aces dates back to the 17th century. Then the English King James I issued a decree on the need to print on the deck information about the manufacturer. It was applied in fanciful ways: in the form of monograms, symbols and letters. Already during the reign of Queen Anne, the decree introduced a tax for the production of cards. On each deck it was necessary to put a stamp stamp, which confirmed the fact of payment of the tax. Over time, the practice of putting the manufacturer’s mark on the aces spread to almost all European countries.

From here, by the way, there was another legend. It is believed that the ace of spades promises death. The fact that dishonest manufacturers often tried to forge the stamp seal, which according to the laws of the English state was punishable by execution. Hence the relationship between the ace and death.

Decks popular in Russia

Russia was not an exception. Here, too, cards were played, sometimes despite state prohibitions. In 1765, Empress Catherine II by her decree introduced a tax on imported decks.

In 1817, the first card factory was opened at the Alexander manufactory. In 1819 it produced two hundred forty thousand decks, and a year later six times more – one million three hundred

In 1817 the first card factory was opened at the Alexander manufactory. In 1819 it produced two hundred and forty thousand decks, and a year later six times more – one million three hundred.

The first Russian pattern with Cyrillic indices was created by the imperial artist Adolf Iosifovich Sharleman in 1862. By that time the factory produced a wide range of cards: playing, fortune-telling, children’s, travel cards. The sketches of the 60-70s of the XIX century are still popular in Russia.

Russian road, Imperial factoryIt is noteworthy that in the Russian deck, the coat of arms seal was sometimes applied to the ace of diamonds, and sometimes to the ace of spades.

In creating a template for a Russian audience, Charlemagne was oriented toward the French deck and the Anglo-American sketch. He may not have brought anything significant to the design, but his developments are still used today.

In 1911, the Imperial Factory developed the “Slavic” sketch. These maps were produced with Cyrillic and Latin indices for export.

In the same year 1911 the factory developed the sketch “Historical”. In it, the cards of the higher suits are depicted as representatives of four civilizations: Assyrian, Greek, Egyptian and Norman. The deck was also printed with Latin indexes.

Probably the most famous deck, developed during the Russian Empire, but actively used in the USSR, was a variation of the “Russian Style”. Sketches for it served as pictures of the imperial masquerade ball in 1903. The cards were first printed at the Dondorf factory in 1913. The issue was timed to the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, but the template was often used in Soviet times, having previously removed the double-headed eagle from the ace of diamonds.

What cards are used in casinos

In land-based casinos, as well as in the game with a live dealer, paper, semi-plastic or plastic cards are used. Large institutions usually have at their disposal decks with the author’s shirt, which depicts their corporate logo, and the sketch can be any.

For reasons of practicality, plastic cards are more often used, as they are less likely to wear out

For reasons of practicality, plastic cards are used more often as they are less likely to wear out.

The standard size of a single sheet for poker or blackjack is 63 by 88 millimeters. Sometimes the dealer can use cards for bridge. They are 58 millimeters wide, making them easier to shuffle.

The card may have a standard, enlarged or magnum index, where the value is shown in large print on the entire surface.

Vonline-slots are usually used cards with a standard pattern and common international names: A, K, Q, J.