Poker is a game that requires an endless amount of skill and critical thinking if you want to place in the top ranks of players. But it’s also a game that gets our inner creative artists excited every time we see the intricate designs of your standard pack of cards.
If you’re passionate about the game of poker, keeping up with the latest poker tips is a good idea so you can keep on improving your gameplay. Whether you like to listen to popular poker podcasts, or frequently find yourself scrolling through online poker forums, there’s always more to be learned about this strategic game. But, how much do you know about the history of poker cards?
We’re all familiar with hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, but do you know when and why they were introduced to the card game? Keep on reading to find out more.
The Early Origins of Poker Cards
Many people still debate where and when playing cards were first observed. We know that these cards started to show up in Europe in the late 1300s, but how they got there is still something that even the experts aren’t sure of.
By the 14th century, playing cards had become mainstream across the European continent, but it was mainly split up into two different designs: Parisian (popular in France), and the Rouennais design (popular in England). The Rouennais design is most similar to what we are familiar with today with the four different suits – which were designed to be as simple as possible to lower the cost of replicating cards.
The artwork you see featured on playing cards seems to be influenced by popular designs in Belgium where we started to see the inclusion of kings with crowns perched on their heads, and queens holding scepters.
How The Design of Playing Cards Work
You can’t argue with the fact that playing cards are incredible examples of good design in practice, even more so when you consider the fact that the designs we see today are extremely similar to the ones that were used hundreds of years ago – as they say, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it!
Aside from the fact that simple design is extremely aesthetic, it also aids in making things easier for the players. Firstly because all of the cards showcase excellent examples of symmetry, which makes each card extremely attractive to our eyes. It also means that players can’t hold the card upside down, so you can always figure out what card you have in a split second regardless of its orientation.
Interestingly, the ‘court cards’ (the queen, king, and jack) used to be full-length images, but in the 19th century, they were changed to be symmetrical too in line with the rest of the other cards. This meant that the entire pack of cards looked uniform and followed the same symmetrical rule.
Another interesting design feature is how each card displays the number and suit in the corner, along with the color of the suit. This may seem like a small touch, but it’s something you unknowingly appreciate every time you want to hold all the cards up closer together in a single hand.
The Famous Faces Behind The Poker Cards
Did you know that each of the king and queen cards is representative of real-life rulers? The kings are David, Charles, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great. For the queens, we have Pallas, Judith, Rachel, and Argine. Although these famous faces are supposed to be the inspiration behind the images we see on our playing cards, we’re not 100% certain, but it’s something that a lot of people seem to agree on.
There is still some speculation about the hidden identities of the playing cards, but there are also some fun facts that you probably never noticed before. Like how the King of Hearts is the only king who doesn’t have a mustache, and he appears to be killing himself. Also, the King of Diamonds is the only king in the set that is shown with an axe instead of a sword. Although there may not be any artistic significance around these design choices, they do make for an interesting fact to tell your fellow poker players!
Closing Thoughts
Playing cards feature a simple design that has truly stood the test of time, starting from their early origins in the 13th century to the modern day, the iconic design hasn’t changed that much at all.
Long before we had video games and modern technology to design characters, it was still possible to create highly memorable figures and images that people will use on an almost daily basis. We think that playing cards are one of the best examples of inventive design, what are your favorite designs?