Play your cards right is a common phrase used to suggest to take advantage of something. It is obvious that it originated in card games. Millions of players enjoy card games like Indian rummy, poker online and teen patti everyday. Speaking of card games, how much you do you know about playing cards actually?
Surprisingly, a lot of gamers know very little about the actual history of a physical deck of cards. Here, we present you some of the interesting facts about playing cards. If you already know some of these facts, join us and appreciate it. As for the rest of the gamers, these are some valuable information that will be useful to you.
1. Playing Cards originated in China
Research indicates that game of leaves which was played in China in the 9th century was the earliest card game. The first deck of cards was a 32 deck built with wood, bones, and paper.
It is then believed card games spread to countries like India, Persia, and Egypt before reaching the western world. In each stage, the game co-opted different cultural elements and branched out into different variations.
2. Symbols for Face Cards
If you play with a traditional deck of cards (french version), you may recognize some characters. It is because they were inspired from famous monarchs in history.
Generally, the king card in four suits are inspired from emperors Charles, David, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great. Though there is no universal inspiration for Queen cards, it is generally believed that Pallas, Judith, Rachel, and Argine are inspiration for them.
3. Why 52 cards are there in a deck
Ever wondered why a standard deck has 52 cards? Over the past centuries, a deck of cards comprised of 24, 36, 48 cards and basically any number in between.
Though there are many unsubstantiated theories for its origin, it is generally believed that the british and french revolution played a major part in it.
4. Connection between cards and calendar
Though the exact origin of card games are still is disputed, there are certain fascinating aspect about playing cards. It is indeed enchanting how a deck of playing cards corresponds to the calendar
Four Suits – Four suits indicate four seasons of summer, winter, spring, and fall
Two Colors – Two colours (black and red) indicate day and night
13 cards – Thirteen cards in every suits indicated 13 weeks in every quarter
52 cards – 52 cards represent 52 weeks in a year
12 Courts- 12 Courts represent 12 months in a year
5. Playing Cards Production
United States Playing Card Company is the largest producer of playing card decks producing over 100 million decks a year. It was previously known as Bicycle Playing Cards.
6. Plastic Cards in Casino
When it comes to playing cards in casino, they are made of plastic. As casinos sees numerous footfalls everyday, paper cards get worn out easily. Most importantly, using plastic cards makes it impossible for any kinds of cheating like marking of cards, noticing the bends in cards etc. Even when paper cards are used, they are specifically discarded or sold in less than 12 hours. How long a deck is in use depends on factors such as number of players and whether shuffling is done with hand or machine.
