Playing Cards: What’s The Playing Cards?
Playing
cards is a piece of specially prepared heavy
paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin
plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing
card games. Playing cards are
typically palm-sized for convenient handling.
A complete set of cards is called a pack (UK
English), deck (US English), or set (Universal), and the subset of cards held
at one time by a player during a game
is commonly called a hand. A pack of cards may be used for playing a variety of
card games, with varying elements of skill and chance, some of which are played
for money (e.g., poker and blackjack games at a casino). Playing cards are also used for illusions, cardistry,
building card structures, cartomancy and memory sport. The front (or “face”) of
each card carries markings that distinguish it from the other cards in the pack
and determine its use under the rules of the game being played. The back of
each card is identical for all cards in any particular pack to create an
imperfect information scenario. Usually every card will be smooth; however,
some packs have braille to allow blind people to read the card number and suit.
Dedicated deck card games have sets that are used only for a specific game.
The cards described in this article are used
for many games and share a common origin stemming from the standards set in
Mamluk Egypt. These sets divide their cards into four suits each consisting of
three face cards and numbered or “pip” cards.
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