It’s the weekend, an excellent time to get together with friends and family for a fun game of poker. Whether it’s on the messaging app you use to communicate or on the phone, you always ask yourself the same question: who’s holding the poker cards this time? You wouldn’t need them to play poker online, but if you’re one of those who prefer face-to-face, you may have wondered what the natural history of poker cards is, what their origins are, or why these particular pieces are in decks and not others.
This article will shed some light on the problem, giving you the information you need to become a true poker card connoisseur.
Each beginning has a story to tell: a pack of cards.
Playing cards originated as early as the 12th century in China, but it was in Europe that they experienced their best period. When the Arabs conquered Spain and southern France, they originated, reaching their peak popularity in Spanish territory on the Italian peninsula.
Some say that card games had their heyday in times of war, then they moved on to the courts and finally society. Others say the story began in the territory of Castile and Aragon in 1310 at the Council of Science.
A pack of cards is nothing more than a set of cards, also called playing cards. Card games of poker are just one example of what you can do to enjoy the 52 rectangular cards a complete pack of cards offers.
Although in this post, we will focus on poker cards, decks have very diverse uses, games of all kinds, skill games, board games, and famous magic tricks.
Poker cards in different countries
France, Germany, or England also have their decks, as it is the Anglo-Saxon country that is the protagonist of most of the poker cards used in the world’s most famous casinos today. All of these card decks differ mainly in the number and vocabulary of the cards.
Unlike other popular games, it is easy to create fun and sequels with poker cards or other card decks. In Spain, the most popular card games are mus, price, and tute. But when it comes to poker, Texas Hold’em is the most popular variant among our players, taking its origins in “chivito,” which few people remember anymore.
What material are poker cards made of?
Cards are rectangular, with the usual illustrations on one side and a numerical representation with a known “suit” on the opposite side. Their material is usually cardboard, although increasingly, they are made from more sophisticated materials that can withstand any manipulation, such as in casinos or poker rooms where higher quality cards of this type are used to avoid marking the cards.
How many poker cards are in the deck?
Cards in poker are divided into four blocks called “suits.” There are two red suits, the diamonds and hearts, and two black suits, the spades, and clubs. Each suite is made up of 9 cards with a numerical value between 2 and 10. We must add an ace and three pieces (Jack, Queen, and King).
In the world of poker cards, an ace is considered the first numbered card of each suit and equivalent to the number one. The three pieces will be between the number 10 and the ace.
As for the representation of suits in poker card decks, it has its origins in the four social strata of the Middle Ages:
- Diamonds: In the French or English deck, it is represented by diamonds, and in the Spanish deck by gold. It was a symbol representing finance and monarchy.
- Spades: symbolize the army and nobility in the Middle Ages. In the Spanish deck, it would have been equivalent to swords.
- Heart: Also cups in the Spanish deck. It represented the church or clergy, a fundamental institution at the time.
- Shamrock: It represents the farmers or peasant class of feudal society in the Middle Ages. In the Spanish deck, it would mean the peasants.
How many cards do you play poker with?
If we’re talking about a Spanish deck, we can’t talk about poker. The cards for poker belong to the English deck, which is played with 52 cards and goes back to the French deck. The English patio or poker deck is divided into four suits, as we have mentioned in previous paragraphs consisting of two colors (two red and two black). Hearts and Diamonds are red, and Spades and Clubs are black.
The suits are 13 cards: 9 are numbers and 4 pieces (Jack, Queen, King, and Ace). The order is from ace (number 1) to the king.
As for the suit pieces, they are represented by royalty:
- J is Jack, representing the servant.
- Q is the Queen. All ladies in a poker deck hold bouquets, except for the Queen of Spades, who has a wand.
- K is the king.
As for the Ace, it comes from the English term ”Ace”, which is used to refer to a card of each suit with a unique symbol.
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