Modern Deck Evolution: The History of Card Games

Today, we are all familiar with a deck of cards, because we have been using them and playing with them for years. There are a ton of games you can play with a standard deck of cards, from kids’ games that we used to play when we were younger, to casino games like poker and blackjack. We are familiar with and used to the standard deck we have today consisting of 52 cards in red and black colours and four shapes, however, a deck of cards wasn’t always like this. 

Cards have undergone 100s of years of change to get to where they are today. The precise origin of cards isn’t a hundred percent certain but it begins in the East all the way to the modern era where we have online casino playing cards. Many people enjoy the best casino card games online, as they are very convenient and enjoyable. Let’s look at the history of cards and card games.

Modern Day

Before we get into the history part of playing cards, let’s look at the modern day. In the past two to three decades online casinos have risen massively in popularity. They provided people with a much more convenient and enjoyable way of gambling. The possibility of playing casino games from the comfort of your home is a no-brainer for a lot of people. Modern-day online casinos feature all of the classic casino games, and of course, you can’t gamble and play casino games without a deck of cards. This is why the standard deck of cards has been incorporated into online casinos from the beginning. The deck of cards in an online casino works using an RNG (Random Number Generator), in order to simulate real-life chances.

Beginnings in The East

The earliest confirmed reference and mention of playing cards was in Europe, however, there are speculations and debates among historians about whether they originated there or in the East, specifically somewhere in Asia. There are speculations that cards were used as a sort of money in the games and for playing. Historians cannot completely agree whether cards originated in Asia and in what form.

Europe

There is clear evidence that a deck of 52 playing cards existed and was used in Italy. The deck featured different suits than the ones we are used to today and at first were luxury items that only the rich and wealthy could afford, but later through the years, they became more and more available. The Spanish also had their own deck of cards with different suits.

In Germany, they designed a deck of cards with different suits, in order to be different from the Italians. Germany played one of the biggest roles in the rise of the popularity of playing cards, as they developed a technique for printing them.

France was the first to use the modern-day symbols we are used to, they developed them in the 15th century. The biggest contribution and difference the French made within the world of playing cards is they split the deck of cards into two colors like we use today. So the French were responsible for the modern deck of cards we have and use today.

The English used the French design, however, they also gave us another thing. They were the ones that changed the names of the symbols to what we know today, hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs.

The United States

The Americans got their playing cards from England, of course. They did not make any changes to the deck of cards meaning the ones we use today are from the English. There is also mention and evidence of the Natives of America using their own deck of cards, inspired by the ones the Americans used.

There you have it, an overview of the history of playing cards. The beginning is still uncertain, but the journey is a really interesting one. How a couple of dozen pieces of paper changed from country to country to develop into the playing cards we know and use today. It was a truly long journey