A deck of 52 cards is the most well-recognized deck internationally. It is used throughout the world for entertainment through the means of different kinds of games that can be played using these cards. But what is the history behind these cards, and why are there exactly 52 cards in a deck?
Cards are a well-designed invention with numbers adding up to represent the 4 seasons of the earth, the days in a year, and even the 13 lunar cycles in a year. The deck of cards have represented various cultures throughout the years. This is why playing cards have become a famed source of entertainment globally. The deck’s rich history proves its evolution throughout the years.
This was a brief overview of why there are 52 cards in a deck. For a more detailed analysis, keep reading this article. This article will provide the perfect insight.
What Is The History Behind Playing Cards?
People have been using cards to play various games for more than hundreds of years. They were widely used to play games in the Middle East and one famous example is the “Moorish Game.” But there are some records in history that almost go back two centuries to the land of modern-day China.
There are some historians who suspect that cards originated in Arabia, which does not seem too unlikely as the Arabs used to be leaders in science and technology some time ago and have been the pioneers of many fundamental theories we see and use today.
During the early periods, cards were handcrafted and were often an expensive purchase for entertainment. The standardization of the 52 decks of cards started around in England in the late 1800s and the English pattern spread all over the world by the 19th century.
To learn more about the history of a 52-card deck, watch this video,
What Is The Composition Of A Deck?
A deck of 52 cards consists of 4 suits. These are the Diamonds, the Spades, the Hearts, and the Clubs. Each of these suits further contains 13 cards, out of which ten are numbered cards starting from the ace, followed by three distinct pictured cards.
The picture cards contain a Jack, a Queen, and a King. The four suits are also colored divided into red for Diamonds and Hearts and black for Spades and Clubs.
A deck has 26 red and 26 black cards. Within the 26 red cards, there are 13 hearts and 13 diamond cards. Similarly, the black cards have 13 spades and 13 clubs. Every suit has one ace resulting in a total of 4 aces in a deck of 52 cards.
The Cards Represent Planet Earth
There are many theories behind this, and although none of them have been proven, some details simply can not be pure coincidence. The four colors represent the four seasons, while the 52 cards in the deck represent the 52 weeks in a year. When the entire deck is added together, it sums up to 364.
An interesting detail is about the Joker card that has a numerical value of 1.25, which, when added to the rest of the cards, results in a value of 365.25, the exact number of days in one calendar year.
In addition to this, the 13 cards per suit represent the thirteen lunar cycles, and in another theory, the numbers 1 to 12 represent the 12 months in a year.
What Is The Significance Of The Suits?
As discussed earlier, a stack of 52 cards contains 12 picture cards with the base cards being a Jack, a Queen, and a King. This was not always the case as, originally, different cultures had used specific pictures to represent characters and symbolic items from their own cultures and traditions.
Early Europeans used the Chalice, the Sword, the Money, and the Baton, whereas some Germanic countries switched to Hearts, Acorns, Bells, and Leaves to represent their own cultures, respectively.
Each suit also has its own strength that is majorly determined by the kind of card game that you choose to play. Generally, the Ace is considered the highest-ranking card after the King, followed by the Queen and the Jack. Higher ranking cards beat lower ranking cards, but that is subject to change depending on the game of interest.
This adds even more diversity to the types of games that you can play with the deck and makes way for the discovery and establishment of newer ones as well.
The Deck Has Evolved Over The Years
The modern-day design of the deck is the one that was used first in England and France, known commonly as the French pattern, sometimes also referred to as the International pattern of cards. Modern-day 52 deck cards also carry index labels on all four or opposite corners of the card to facilitate the identification of the cards and to make sure that all cards appear identical to players on opposing sides.
In English-speaking countries, the letters A, K, J, and Q are used for Ace, King, Joker, and Queen, respectively. In other countries like Russia, France, Germany, and Sweden, these letters vary with respect to the different languages used in these countries.
Although the most commonly used deck of cards contains 52 cards, there are certain countries, such as Russia and Germany, that use short decks or cards even today. These are smaller in number and can contain up to 32 cards (Russian) and 36 cards (German).
Conclusion
Card decks have evolved over the years with different designs, patterns, and suits, with the most commonly used deck of cards now containing 52 cards per deck. They have always been surrounded by various theories about the composition and arrangement of the deck, with some interesting ones revealing how cards represent the planet itself.
The deck was also designed while keeping statistics in mind, making way for interesting probabilities while playing games.
