Editing Playing card (section)

{{short description|Card used for playing various card games}}
{{redirect|Deck of cards|the song|The Deck of Cards}}
{{about||other uses, including specific playing cards|Playing card (disambiguation)}}
[[File:AcetoFive.JPG|thumb|Hand of [[French-suited cards]]]]
[[File:Tarockkarten in der Hand eines Spielers.jpg|thumb|[[Tarot playing cards]] from Austria]]
[[File:Bavarian pack-Suit of Bells.jpg|thumb|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 [[Paper#Finishing|finish]] to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing [[card game]]s, and are also used in [[magic trick]]s, [[cardistry]],<ref name="van-fair-2015">{{cite web |last1=Pang |first1=Kevin |title=72 Hours Inside the Eye-Popping World of Cardistry |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/04/cardistry-con-2015 |publisher=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=April 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name="cepeda-2019">{{cite web |last1=Cepeda |first1=Esther |title=Cardistry transforms deck of cards into performance art |url=https://www.postindependent.com/opinion/columns/cepeda-column-cardistry-transforms-deck-of-cards-into-performance-art/ |publisher=Post Independent |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=July 26, 2019}}</ref> [[card throwing]],<ref name="npr-ricky-jay">{{cite web |last1=Klimek |first1=Chris |title=Ricky Jay Remembered, From The Wings: An Assistant's Thoughts On the Late Magician |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/30/671637852/ricky-jay-remembered-from-the-wings-a-personal-assistants-thoughts-on-the-late-s |publisher=NPR |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=November 30, 2018 |quote=The second act climaxed with him throwing cards into watermelon, first the squishy interior, then the "pachydermatic outer melon layer."}}</ref> and [[house of cards|card houses]]; cards may also be collected.{{HochmanEncyclopedia}} 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]],{{efn|Also called the International or Anglo-American pattern, but 'English pattern' is the name recommended by the [[International Playing-Card Society]].}} followed by the [[Belgian-Genoese pattern]].<ref>[https://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/bgp.html ''Pattern Sheet 80''] at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 23 August 2020.</ref> However, many countries use other, traditional types of playing card, including those that are [[German-suited|German]], [[Italian-suited|Italian]], [[Spanish-suited|Spanish]] and [[Swiss-suited]]. [[Tarot card]]s (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]].{{sfn|Decker|Depaulis|Dummett|1996|p=ix}} Asia, too, has regional cards such as the Japanese [[hanafuda]], Chinese [[Chinese playing cards#Money-suited cards|money-suited cards]], or Indian [[ganjifa]]. 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, [[casino]]s<ref name="kaplan-nyt-2016"/> and [[Magician (illusionist)|magicians]]<ref name="np-wong">{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Alex |title=How young magicians are learning to cast a spell on a modern audience |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/how-young-magicians-are-learning-to-cast-a-spell-on-a-modern-audience |newspaper=National Post |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=April 4, 2019}}</ref> (sometimes in the form of [[trick deck]]s),<ref name="wired-mallonee">{{cite web |last1=Mallonee |first1=Laura |title=The Secret Tools Magicians Use to Fool You |url=https://www.wired.com/story/magician-secret-tools-photo-gallery/ |publisher=Wired |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=November 9, 2018}}</ref> made as [[Promotion (marketing)|promotional]] items,<ref name="asi-hegel">{{cite web |last1=Hegel |first1=Theresa |title=Smart Promotional Items at CES |url=https://www.asicentral.com/news/newsletters/promogram/january-2018/smart-promotional-items-at-ces/ |website=Advertising Specialty Institute |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=January 10, 2018}}</ref> or intended as [[souvenir]]s,<ref name="guardian-haring">{{cite web |last1=Sawyer |first1=Miranda |title='The public has a right to art': the radical joy of Keith Haring |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/02/public-has-right-to-art-keith-haring-tate-liverpool-exhibition |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=June 2, 2019 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name="bakersfield-now-2018">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Lexi |title=A new deck of cards with a Bakersfield twist |url=https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/a-new-deck-of-cards-with-a-bakersfield-twist |publisher=Bakersfield Now |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> artistic works, [[education]]al tools,<ref name="china-daily-shanghai">{{cite web |author1=Xinhua |title=Shanghai uses playing cards to promote garbage sorting |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/17/WS5cde71eba3104842260bc518.html |publisher=China Daily |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=2019-05-17}}</ref><ref name="nbc-ap-columbia"/><ref name="pop-sci-2018">{{cite web |author1=Stack Commerce |title=These playing cards help you learn about design |url=https://www.popsci.com/design-and-font-deck-playing-cards/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729055057/https://www.popsci.com/design-and-font-deck-playing-cards/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 29, 2019 |website=Popular Science |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=January 16, 2018 }}</ref> or [[brand]]ed accessories.<ref name="vogue-feb-19">{{cite web |last1=Ramzi |first1=Lilah |title=All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go: The Best Looks to Wear at Home |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-looks-to-wear-at-home |publisher=Vogue |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=February 25, 2019 |quote=[[Tiffany & Co.]] playing cards, $115}}</ref> Decks of cards or even single cards are also [[Collecting|collected]] as a hobby or for monetary value.<ref name="forbes-seideman">{{cite web |last1=Seideman |first1=David |title=Trading Cards Continue To Trounce The S&P 500 As Alternative Investments |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/01/18/trading-cards-continue-to-trounce-the-sp-500-as-alternative-investments/#15b3e3a72f6e |work=Forbes |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=January 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nyt-sullivan-2018">{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Paul |title=Trading Cards: A Hobby That Became a Multimillion-Dollar Investment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/your-money/trading-cards-investment.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>