01-017 Standard 52-card Deck

01-017
Standard 52-card Deck

After writing a number of posts on dedicated deck card games, it is time to go back to the basic. In the next few posts, I will talk about several standard decks of playing cards.

I grew up in the late 70s in Hongkong. During my childhood, the word “card game” only refers to one thing, the standard 52-card deck. I did played different traditional Chinese card games with my dad, such as Mahjong or Sap Ng Wu. But if talking about playing cards, the first thing that came up in my mind was the standard deck. Nothing else. That concept remains until mid-90s when I first played UNO.

Standard 52-card decks are sold almost everywhere. Price of a pack can be down to just a few bucks. Everyone have played it. Some even play it every day. But not too many people know its history. And also the so-called “standard” 52-card deck is only a standard in some areas of the world. In other areas, people have another “standard”.

It’s from France!

Our so-called “standard” 52-card deck of playing cards are originated from France. Its official name is called the French-suit. The cards reached England in the late 15^th century and became a standard there after a few decades. The deck followed the settlers to the new continents and the colonists to old continents. Now it becomes the standard and the only deck in most countries.

Reason for the English to adopt the French-suit is because of its simplicity in design. The four French-suits, clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠), are relatively easier to print than other European suits.

The Face cards have names!

Other thing that worth mention is, face cards actually have their own names. The faces are not randomly drawn. They are pictures of historical people.

Don’t know who they are? Read the Bible or history books.

The ace of spades is for taxation.

The ace of spades of most playing cards bear a different design. Normally, the card features the insignia of the manufacturer. According to Wikipedia, “The ornate design of the ace of spades, common in packs today, stems from the 17^th century, when James I and later Queen Anne imposed laws requiring the ace of spades to bear an insignia of the printing house. Stamp duty, an idea imported to England by Charles I, was extended to playing cards in 1711 by Queen Anne and lasted until 1960.” And the penalty of not following this rule? Death! 

The Ace of Spades 

Compositions

A standard 52-card deck, as its name says, contains 52 cards. But normally, it also comes with the 53^rd and 54^th cards, being the two jokers.

Normally, a pack of cards bears no instructions as all people knows how to play cards. I did saw some exceptions where rules of some common games are printed on the 55^th and the 56^th cards.

There are basically 2 standard sizes of cards, the “wide” and the “whist”. “Wide” cards are 3½ x 2½ inches, which is also called the Poker size. “Whist” cards are 3½ x 2¼ inches, or the Bridge size. But there are still many cards that did not follow these standards. 

There are plenty of games that you can play with a standard deck of cards. I am going to show “Big 2” here. It is one of the most popular game in the Canton area, the place where I live. Everyone knows how to play. The game is so popular that there is even a world tournament.  It is also the first standard deck card game I played with my wife and kids.

General Information

Player	2 to 4
Playing Time	30 min
Age	10+
Year Released	1980
Designer	(Public Domain)
Publisher	Angel
Family	Hand Management, Climbing, Shedding / Stops
Score	6.7 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Card size	Poker size (63mm x 88mm, 2.5" x 3.5")
Deck size	54 cards
# of suits	4 – diamonds (♦), clubs (♣), hearts (♥) & spades (♠) + Jokers
Details	For each suit, there are:  1x A 1x 2 1x 3 1x 4 1x 5 1x 6 1x 7 1x 8 1x 9 1x 10 1x J 1x Q 1x K  And 2x Jokers

The game play

 

Where to buy?

It would be a bit dumb to talk about where to buy playing cards. I bet most of you can just pull out a pack from almost anywhere in your house. However, if you want to start a new card game collection like what I am doing, a bit of considerations would definitely make things more meaningful.

I had many different decks of playing cards lying everywhere in my house. But the pack that I put alongside with other dedicated deck of card games is this one, a deck printed by the Japanese manufacturer Angel. It is not an ordinary deck of cards. It is from a casino.

Standard 52-card deck

When talking about playing cards, most people will immediately think about casino. So, if you want to add a standard deck of playing cards to your card game collection, include something from casino would definitely be fun. You can find used cards from casino selling on eBay. Or, get some popular brand with rich history and good quality. A pack of Bicycle card really worth consideration. 

My Angel playing card pack came in plastic wrap with no individual box. I got it from my office. We have a casino customer and they gave us 2 boxes of cards for testing, 30 packs in one box. Quality of the cards is really good. The only drawback is, the 2 Joker cards are not playable because the back sides are in a different pattern. Maybe because Jokers are not used in casino.

I asked my son why this good quality deck of cards does not come with a box. This starts our first discussion on global economics.

So, apart from those dedicated deck playing cards, do I also play standard deck playing cards with my kids? The answer is definitely yes. I always emphases one thing to my kids, never forgot the origins. “You like UNO? Then you need to play Crazy Eights. You may not like it. But at least you should give it a try.” Honestly, kids like dedicated deck playing cards more.  But without a few games on the standard deck, our card game adventure just won’t be completed.

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