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Playing card

For other uses, including specific playing cards, see Playing card (disambiguation).
Hand of French-suited cards
Tarot playing cards from Austria
Suit of Bells from a Bavarian pack

A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a finish to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing card games, and are also used in magic tricks, cardistry,[1][2] card throwing,[3] and card houses; cards may also be collected.[4] Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a deck of cards or pack of cards.

The most common type of playing card in the West is the French-suited, standard 52-card pack, of which the most widespread design is the English pattern,[a] followed by the Belgian-Genoese pattern.[5] However, many countries use other, traditional types of playing card, including those that are German, Italian, Spanish and Swiss-suited. Tarot cards (also known locally as Tarocks or tarocchi) are an old genre of playing card that is still very popular in France, central and Eastern Europe and Italy. Customised Tarot card decks are also used for divination; including tarot card reading and cartomancy.[6] Asia, too, has regional cards such as the Japanese hanafuda. The reverse side of the card is often covered with a pattern that will make it difficult for players to look through the translucent material to read other people's cards or to identify cards by minor scratches or marks on their backs.

Playing cards are available in a wide variety of styles, as decks may be custom-produced for competitions, casinos[7] and magicians[8] (sometimes in the form of trick decks),[9] made as promotional items,[10] or intended as souvenirs,[11][12] artistic works, educational tools,[13][14][15] or branded accessories.[16] Decks of cards or even single cards are also collected as a hobby or for monetary value.[17][18]

  1. ^ Pang, Kevin (April 21, 2015). "72 Hours Inside the Eye-Popping World of Cardistry". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. ^ Cepeda, Esther (July 26, 2019). "Cardistry transforms deck of cards into performance art". Post Independent. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  3. ^ Klimek, Chris (November 30, 2018). "Ricky Jay Remembered, From The Wings: An Assistant's Thoughts On The Late Magician". NPR. Retrieved 29 July 2019. The second act climaxed with him throwing cards into watermelon, first the squishy interior, then the "pachydermatic outer melon layer."
  4. ^ Hochman, Gene; Dawson, Tom; Dawson, Judy (2000). The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards. Stamford, CT: U.S. Games Systems. ISBN 1572812974. OCLC 44732377.
  5. ^ Pattern Sheet 80 at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ Decker, Depaulis & Dummett 1996, p. ix.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference kaplan-nyt-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Wong, Alex (April 4, 2019). "How young magicians are learning to cast a spell on a modern audience". National Post. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  9. ^ Mallonee, Laura (November 9, 2018). "The Secret Tools Magicians Use to Fool You". Wired. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  10. ^ Hegel, Theresa (January 10, 2018). "Smart Promotional Items at CES". Advertising Specialty Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  11. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (June 2, 2019). "'The public has a right to art': the radical joy of Keith Haring". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2019. His art is everywhere. There are Haring T-shirts, Haring shoes, Haring chairs. You can buy Haring baseball hats and badges and baby-carriers and playing cards and stickers and keyrings.
  12. ^ Wilson, Lexi (December 1, 2018). "A new deck of cards with a Bakersfield twist". Bakersfield Now. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. ^ Xinhua (2019-05-17). "Shanghai uses playing cards to promote garbage sorting". China Daily. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference nbc-ap-columbia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Stack Commerce (January 16, 2018). "These playing cards help you learn about design". Popular Science. Retrieved 29 July 2019.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Ramzi, Lilah (February 25, 2019). "All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go: The Best Looks to Wear at Home". Vogue. Retrieved 29 July 2019. Tiffany & Co. playing cards, $115
  17. ^ Seideman, David (January 18, 2019). "Trading Cards Continue To Trounce The S&P 500 As Alternative Investments". Forbes. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Paul (March 23, 2018). "Trading Cards: A Hobby That Became a Multimillion-Dollar Investment". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2019.


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