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playing cards
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euchre Round painted ivory playing cards, probably from the Deccan, India, 18th century. Sheet of French playing cards, c. 1800. Soldiers bear a flag that shows the card's suit and rank. playing cards Joker playing card featuring a smiling figure dressed in colorful, old-fashioned attire with a green hat and feather, holding a bag of gold coins and a playing card. Suitmarks of playing cards Suitmarks were first used on Italian and Spanish decks of playing cards. Soon after, nature-oriented suitmarks adorned German and Swiss decks. Simple stencil designs reduced the cost of producing playing cards in France, and the French designs were lightly modified in England to produce the modern, or international, suitmarks. Playing cards with national suitmarks are still common in many countries, particularly for use in certain traditional card games, but all international competitions use the international suitmarks. tarot card hanafuda
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playing cards summary
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Close-up of a roulette wheel with the ball on black number 17. (gambling, games of chance, gaming)
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playing cards: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Paul Huson, Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage (2004); David Parlett, A History of Card Games (1991; originally published as The Oxford Guide to Card Games, 1990); and Catherine Perry Hargrave, A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming (2004), are authoritative histories of card playing. Reliable sources for rules include Joli Quentin Kansil (ed.), Bicycle Official Rules of Card Games (2002); David Parlett, The A–Z of Card Games, 2nd ed. (2004; 1st ed. published as Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, 1992); and Barry Rigal and Omar Sharif, Card Games for Dummies, 2nd ed. (2013).

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Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: LiveAbout - What Do the Playing Card Suits Represent? Sep 25, 2026
Add new Web site: CORE - Playing Cards Using the “Tepuk Nyamuk” Method Improves Cognitive Function and Social Interaction in the Elderly (PDF). Dec 17, 2025
Add new Web site: ABC listen - Counterpoint - What's the deal with playing cards? Aug 14, 2025
Add new Web site: CORE - Playing Cards Using the “Tepuk Nyamuk” Method Improves Cognitive Function and Social Interaction in the Elderly (PDF). Nov 21, 2024
Add new Web site: LiveAbout - What Do the Playing Card Suits Represent? Jul 18, 2024
Add new Web site: The Guardian - Leaders of the pack: A short history of cards. Feb 16, 2024
Added photographs of a joker playing card, hanafuda playing cards, a royal flush of hearts, and a Euchre hand. Apr 21, 2017
Bibliography restructured and updated. Apr 21, 2017
Article revised and updated. Apr 21, 2017
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - The History Of Playing Cards. Apr 21, 2008
Added new Web site: International Playing-Card Society - History of Playing-Cards. Apr 21, 2008
Added new Web site: Elliott Avedon Museum and Archive of Games - Playing Cards: British. Apr 21, 2008
Article revised and updated. Dec 29, 2006
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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