A deck of cards is one of those things that everyone comes into contact with from time to time. It is small and simple and yet, at the same time, very much versatile. From magic tricks and business games for kids to severe and complicated casino classics such as poker and blackjack, a deck of cards comes in handy always. Now that being said, if you are a professional card player or even a casual one, a deck of cards is the tool you practice your skills with. But if you are like most of the gamblers, you probably don’t know much about the playing cards-what are they, why are they in a way they are, where did they come from? 

Let’s take a look at some of the most intriguing facts about your deck of cards. Let’s see how much of these did you know before.

1. The History:

Playing Cards first arrived around 900 years ago in China, yet they are as popular as ever. Despite their simplicity, cards and card games have evolved with time. In the 21st century, people still play with traditional cards, but the internet had a remarkable impact on keeping cards relevant. Popular online casino sites have brought historical card games to a whole new generation in an exciting way. The technological age has also reinvented casino games such as solitaire and even led to the invention of new games such as Freecell.

2. Why 52 cards in a Deck?:

For centuries, decks of cards have come in variations. They have been in groups of 24, 36, 40, 48, and just about any amount in between. Due to French and English colonialism, the French deck (with 52 cards) was able to spread around the world quite quickly. No doubt for sure, why 52 has become the most common deck size, other than that.

The most exciting thing is there are 52 weeks in a year, thus 52 cards in a deck. And if you sum up all the symbols in a deck of cards, it equals the same amount of days in a year, which is 365. So now you know why only 52 cards are there in a Deck. The next time you stand around the casino table, be the smartest guy to know this.

3. The 4 Suits:

Did it ever occur to you that Diamonds, Hearts, Clubs, and Spades is something of a random selection for the four suits? There is some logic behind it, and you have to search the historian time to find out the reason behind choosing these 4 suits. There have been many varieties of suits over the years among different cultures. The original suits back in medieval times were coins, which represented wealth, swords, cups (love), and sticks. Over time, these suits evolved into the suits we see today. 

While countries like Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and others all developed their types of suits and decks, it was the French version with its hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades that spread worldwide over the past two centuries.

4. The Card Calendar:

Cards have an indeed vast history dating hundreds of years ago, but their exact origin remains a matter of speculation. But there some fantastic ways in which the creation of a deck can be explained. It has been observed how a deck of cards corresponds to a calendar in many remarkable respects:

• 2 colors: The two colors, red, and black represent the two parts of each day, the day and night. 
• 4 suits: The four suits represent the four seasons: spring, summer, rainfall, and winter.
• 12 courts: The 12 court cards represent 12 months in a year.
• 13 values: The 13 cards in each suit represent the 13 weeks in each quarter and 13 lunar cycles. 
• 52 cards: The 52 cards in a deck represent 52 weeks in a year. 

5. World’s most expensive/ rare deck of cards:

Collecting Card-deck is a hobby for many people around the world, though there are no specific market prices for them. However, the oldest and the rarest deck of cards is a 52-card tarot deck from the mid-15th century originating from the Netherlands.

It now resides in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it was sold to a collector in the 70s for $2,800. On an online buying and selling platform such as eBay, an obscure deck of cards (such as the Microsoft-David Blaine Create Magic deck) can go between $500-$1,000.

6. Patterns on the back of the cards:

Nowadays, you can get cards with everything from cartoons to celebrities on the back of the cards, but traditional cards had some distinctive patterns in either red or blue. Each manufacturer had its design, which was as unique as the Tartan of a Scottish clan. 

7. Card Warfare:

It is a rumor that Playing Cards played a significant role in the Vietnam war. There are a lot of stories out there, suggesting that they did. According to the historical researchers, the Vietnamese were very superstitious about the card- the Ace of Spades and believed that it signified death. When the US got to know about this, the Playing Card Company in Cincinnati started producing unique decks of cards containing 52 aces of spades, and nothing else. They sent the decks out with the American soldiers, who left them on the bodies of dead soldiers and scattered them around the fields and the jungle to establish fear among the enemy troops.

So here are some of the most surprising facts about Playing cards that an average person can know about. Maybe knowing about the cards will help you look at them in a different way the next time you come across a deck of cards. Visit our Blogs section to find out more interesting casino-related information.