how many cards in a deck
Playing card games is something you are just getting into or you have played a few without paying attention to the cards. Are there 48, 52, 54 or 56? All of those are true, but how many cards are in a deck?
Standard decks contain 52 cards. There are 13 ranks, Ace through King, and 4 suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. Each suit contains one card of each rank.
The answer is simple, so why is there so much confusion over how many cards are in a deck? Well, there are extra cards, wild cards, game specific decks, and more. solsarin will cover as much as it can to finally put this question to rest!
How many cards are in a deck of cards?
The answer depends on what kind of deck you are buying. Most people refer to a standard 52-card deck with four suits and thirteen cards in each suit.
Some decks are designed for specific games, such as a Pinochle deck that has only 48 cards, comprising two Aces, two Kings, two Queens, two Jacks, two Tens, and two Nines from each suit.
If you’re not playing Pinochle, you’ll most likely be dealing with a standard deck of cards that has 52 cards. So what’s the story behind 52?
Why are there 52 cards in a deck?
The 52 suits and face cards seem kind of random, doesn’t it? Why 52?
There’s a great article on why 52 cards are in a deck where you can read. You’ll also learn why 56 cards are actually in most decks and other oddities you may encounter.
Are there 52 or 54 cards in a deck?
There are 54 cards in a standard deck, and most of them have two Jokers, so that would make 54 total. It is a relatively recent phenomenon in playing cards, not considered
a part of the O.G. 52, and used more often as Wild cards, meaning they can take on the suit and rank of any other card in the deck.
How many cards are in a deck of 52?
A standard deck of playing cards is made up of 52 cards and is divided into four suits: King, Queen, and Ace.
Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades make up the four suits.
A total of thirteen ranks exist: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two.
A deck contains four of each card, duplicated across all suits. For example, there are four Twos: Two of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Two of Spades, and Two of Hearts.
If you didn’t do well in math, four times thirteen equals 52.
In a deck of cards there are 13 Hearts, 13 Clubs, 13 Spades, and 13 Diamonds. Each suit has all thirteen ranks represented.
How many Kings are in a deck?
No special treatment for Kings, Queens, Jacks, or Aces, despite their royal status. There are 4 Kings in a deck, 4 Queens in a deck, 4 Jacks in a deck. (Exceptionally strong, of course!)
What Comes After 10 in a Deck of Cards?
Once we reach the rank Ten, we move on to the face cards Jack, Queen, and King. Depending on the game, Ace can either represent higher than King or lower than One.
There is a difference in value between the face cards in different games. For instance, in Cribbage and Blackjack, all the face cards are counted as 10s. The same represents the Ace
in Blackjack. It can either represent the value One or Eleven based on the count of your hand in that game.
Which card in a deck is the strongest?
A deck’s strongest card may depend entirely on the game you are playing. For a large number of games, Ace is the top rated card, or the King is the highest ranking card. However, there are other games in which this is not the case. For example, in Hearts, the Queen of Spades is worth 13 points.
I believe that the hierarchy of the strength of each suit is not only based on the ranks or cards, but there might also be a hierarchy of the strength of each suit. For example, if two players were in a poker game with a Royal Flush (almost impossible, I know, but let’s play along anyway), would it be a draw? Or would someone win?
There is a tie here! Poker doesn’t really care about suit. However, there are some games that do. For example, in Bridge, the suits are ranked alphabetically, beginning with Clubs being the lowest, followed by Diamonds, Hearts, and then Spades being the highest suit.
What games can you play with a Standard Deck?
The possibilities are endless, with new games coming up frequently, especially across cultural and national boundaries. These are some of the more popular games you can play using a single standard deck of cards:
- Rummy
- Crazy 8s
- Cribbage
- Poker
- Teen Patti
- Porridge
- Nine Cards
- Bridge
- Solitaire
- War
- Go Fish
- Blackjack
How Many Jokers are in a Deck of Cards?
In a deck with Jokers, there are 54 cards, and in a deck without Jokers, there are 52 cards.
Jokers only count in the 52 card total when a normal card from the deck is lost. Sometimes, to keep playing, people will use a marker to write on one of the Jokers as a replacement.
If the Seven of Hearts mysteriously disappears, take one of the Jokers and write 7 and a Heart symbol on it. Now just treat that Joker as if it were the Seven of Hearts.
Is it possible to play with more cards?
Some games require more than one deck of cards. These are some examples of games that require more than one deck.
- Texas Hold’em (More than 7 players)
- Blackjack
- Canasta
- Rubber
All 52 Cards Explained
When you open up a deck of cards from the 21st century, these are the suits and cards you’ll come across.
Hearts
- Ace of Hearts
- Two of Hearts
- Three of Hearts
- Four of Hearts
- Five of Hearts
- Six of Hearts
- Seven of Hearts
- Eight of Hearts
- Nine of Hearts
- Ten of Hearts
- Jack of Hearts
- Queen of Hearts
- King of Hearts
Diamonds
- Ace of Diamonds
- Two of Diamonds
- Three of Diamonds
- Four of Diamonds
- Five of Diamonds
- Six of Diamonds
- Seven of Diamonds
- Eight of Diamonds
- Nine of Diamonds
- Ten of Diamonds
- Jack of Diamonds
- Queen of Diamonds
- King of Diamonds
Spades
- Ace of Spades
- Two of Spades
- Three of Spades
- Four of Spades
- Five of Spades
- Six of Spades
- Seven of Spades
- Eight of Spades
- Nine of Spades
- Ten of Spades
- Jack of Spades
- Queen of Spades
- King of Spades
Clubs
- Ace of Clubs
- Two of Clubs
- Three of Clubs
- Four of Clubs
- Five of Clubs
- Six of Clubs
- Seven of Clubs
- Eight of Clubs
- Nine of Clubs
- Ten of Clubs
- Jack of Clubs
- Queen of Clubs
- King of Clubs
52 of My Closest Friends!
In other words, if you stayed with me until the end of this article, you probably know more than 95% of the population about how many cards are in a deck, what they consist of, and why there are 52 cards in the first place. Thank you for reading about what I believe to be one of the most versatile inventions ever invented: the 52 card deck.
