PLAYING CARDS / POKER

● 2 colours: The two colours of red and black correspond to the two parts of each day, namely daytime and night. 

● 4 suits: The four suits correspond to the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter.

● 13 values: The thirteen cards in each suit correspond to the 13 weeks in each quarter, and to the 13 lunar cycles. 

● 12 courts: The 12 court cards correspond to the 12 months in a year.

● 52 cards: The 52 cards in a deck correspond to the 52 weeks in a year.

AMAZING FACT

80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000 - This number is the total number of combinations that a regular deck of playing cards can be shuffled into.

CARD WARFARE

Did playing cards really fulfill a significant role in the Vietnam war? There are plenty of stories out there that suggest that they did. According to historians, the Vietnamese were very superstitious about the ace of spades, and believed that it signified death. When they heard about this, the US Playing Card Company in Cincinnati started producing special decks of cards containing 52 aces of spades and nothing else. They sent the packs out to American troops, who left them on the bodies of fallen soldiers and scattered around the fields and jungle to instill fear in the enemy troops.

THE ACE OF SPADES

We all know that the ace of spades is designed differently to the rest of the cards. Once again, there is a historical reason for this. As mentioned above, cards were very popular in France, and the ruling classes saw a way of making some money out of this. In the 17th century, they levied a tax on just one of the 52 cards, and its design was modified to accommodate the stamp to show that duty had been paid. The idea was imported to the UK in 1711 and remained in force till 1960. Some tried to evade tax by simply playing without the ace of spades – this is where the phrase “not playing with a full deck” is thought to come from.

Who Are The KINGS?

Who Are The QUEENS?

Who Are The JACKS?