Tool to learn card names. A classic playing card deck has 52 cards, 4 colours: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. Faces (king, queen, jack) have a name.
Playing Cards - dCode
Tag(s) : Raw Data, Board Games
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Playing Cards
Playing Cards
English Deck
 | Jack of Hearts name: Lahire (Étienne de Vignolles) |  | Queen of Hearts name: Judith |  | King of Hearts name: Charles |
 | Jack of Diamonds name: Hector |  | Queen of Diamonds name: Rachel |  | King of Diamonds name: Caesar |
 | Jack of Spades name: Ogier |  | Queen of Spades name: Pallas |  | King of Spades name: David |
 | Jack of Clubs name: Lancelot |  | Queen of Clubs name: Argine |  | King of Clubs name: Alexandre |
Spades (or pikes):
1♠,2♠,3♠,4♠,5♠,6♠,7♠,8♠,9♠,10♠,J♠,Q♠,K♠
Hearts:
1♥,2♥,3♥,4♥,5♥,6♥,7♥,8♥,9♥,10♥,J♥,Q♥,K♥
Clubs (or clovers):
1♣,2♣,3♣,4♣,5♣,6♣,7♣,8♣,9♣,10♣,J♣,Q♣,K♣
Diamonds (or tiles):
1♦,2♦,3♦,4♦,5♦,6♦,7♦,8♦,9♦,10♦,J♦,Q♦,K♦
Random Card Draws
Answers to Questions (FAQ)
What are the distinct cards of a classic card deck? (Definition)
A deck of cards is made up of 13 distinct values: Ace (A or 1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ,9, 10 (or T), Jack (J), Queen (Q), King (K).
The values are reproduced on 4 different colors: Spades (black), Diamonds (red), Clubs (black) and Hearts (red), (yes, there are actually only 2 true colors: red or black)
52 cards in total (used in most games, like poker)
The deck of playing cards is often completed with 2 jokers (one red, one black)
Cards that do not have a number (J, Q, K) are sometimes referred to as face cards or court cards.
Why these card names?
The four kings names and the jack of diamond (Hector) are among the Nine Worthies (9 heroes Pagan, Christian and Jewish, respected for their glory of war in Europe). There are also 2 queens (Judith and Rachel) that are part of the Nine Worthies Women.
Cards between 2 and 10 do not have a name.
Which are honourable cards?
The strongest cards are called honors in some games (eg. Bridge), the 10, the jack, the queen, the king and the ace.
What is the name of other cards?
It is possible to give a two letters name for cards depending on its value and color.
Example: Ace of Spades = 1S or AS
Example: Two of Clubs = TC or 2C
Example: Five of Diamonds = FD or 5D
Sometimes, names are not unique: TH = 2 of Hearts or 3 of Hearts.
What is the order of cards in a brand new deck?
The order varies slightly depending on the card manufacturer. But, the biggest manufacturers of card games generally use the same order: Spades from Ace to King, then Diamonds, then Clubs then Hearts. 2 joker cards are often added, either at the beginning or at the end.
What is the order of suits?
In bridge, the order is clubs < diamonds < hearts < spades
In many other games, suits are all the same strength.
Why these colors (suits)?
The suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, clover) appear to be from an adaptation of the Germanic signs representing acorns, bells, leaves and hearts. For the origin of these 4 other symbols, no explanation is unanimous.
What is the role of jokers?
The use of the joker varies between games, but sometimes it is simply used to replace a damaged or lost card.
Example: In Canasta the joker has a trump role.
In several known game variants, jokers can be used like in Freecell or Klondike solitaire (the black joker can represent any black card, and the same for the red joker)
What it the acorn or the bell?
In Germany or Switzerland, the acorn and the bell replace the clubs and diamonds respectively.
What are Unicode codes for spade, heart, diamond and clover?
The codes of the Unicode characters corresponding to Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clovers are:
| ♠ | 2660 | ♡ | 2661 | ♢ | 2662 | ♣ | 2663 |
| ♤ | 2664 | ♥ | 2665 | ♦ | 2666 | ♧ | 2667 |
Source code
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- Playing Cards
- Random Card Draws
- What are the distinct cards of a classic card deck? (Definition)
- Why these card names?
- Which are honourable cards?
- What is the name of other cards?
- What is the order of cards in a brand new deck?
- What is the order of suits?
- Why these colors (suits)?
- What is the role of jokers?
- What it the acorn or the bell?
- What are Unicode codes for spade, heart, diamond and clover?
