Starting a conversation about poker, many people imagine the green color of the cloth, colorful colored chips of various denominations and, of course, playing cards, without which the game would not exist. Treasured combinations of a special poker hierarchy are assembled from the cards, some of which become legends – let’s take for example the dream of any poker player Royal Flush or the famous Dead Man’s Hand.
There are many gambling card entertainments, but poker has got its own special cards. In this material, we will find out in more detail what exactly are the features and differences between poker cards and classic ones.
Of course, at the dawn of poker history, players had to be content with ordinary paper cards and the chips were not of special quality, and new decks were printed for the first major tournaments or competitions. Since paper or cardboard wore out too quickly and received characteristic marks – scratches, folds or scuffs.
And if for a home game such “marks” were of no particular importance, then for professionals they became a kind of “speck”, by which you can recognize this or that card in the opponent’s hands or make it recognizable in your own hands. Which in turn could cause an offensive defeat or not quite a clean victory.
In the modern world, manufacturers delight players not only with a varied assortment, but also with very high quality plastic cards for playing poker, and they, in turn, are practically not subject to wear and tear.
Number of cards in a poker deck
Let’s start with the number of playing cards in a poker deck. In the majority or in the classic version, the poker deck contains 52 cards of four suits – Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades. Each of the suits has 13 cards from the lowest – deuce to the highest – ace.
There are also decks of 54 playing cards – these are sets where in addition there are two cards with the Joker, but this character is not used in the game of poker.
Taking into account the fact that all strategies, rules and statistics of the game are based on the exact number of cards in a poker deck, it is impossible not to withdraw or add cards.
Poker card size
One of the main differences between a poker deck is the size of its cards – they are larger than usual. Typically, a classic poker card is 88mm high and 63mm wide. Although many people prefer to use Bridge cards for playing, they are the same height, but narrower – 57 millimeters, that is, it is more convenient for shuffling with hands.
Something else in poker cards is larger than the rest – this is the size of the index, that is, the graphic representation of the face value. This was done for the convenience of the players. You can see the markings “Large Index”, “Poker Index” or “Jumbo Index” on the deck packaging.
Quality playing cards for poker
As we said earlier, today manufacturers produce poker cards of various qualities, cardboard, cardboard with lamination and plastic – and so the last option is the best.
Plastic cards will serve you for a very long time and will delight you with their wear resistance. Due to the smoothness of their surface, they are very comfortable and aesthetically felt in the hands. It is with such cards that it is convenient to shuffle in two piles – to make Rifle.
Plastic poker cards are moisture resistant and practically do not break. In the event of agitation and compression in the player’s hand, they will retain their shape and will not be subject to rubbing or creases at the corners.
For live poker games at real tables, especially when we are talking about tournament events, new cards of high quality are always used. Their reverse side, or in other words – a shirt, must be completely identical. There should not be the slightest flaw on the material of the cards. Today you can find special decks of poker cards made to order for special players, they may have original images of high-value cards or an unusual shirt design.
