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Card game basics
- The standard 52-card deck
- Playing with 32 cards
- Shuffling, cutting and dealing
- How trick-taking works
- Common terms
- Good manners
The standard 52-card deck
A standard deck has 52 cards, split into four suits: ♠ spades, ♥ hearts, ♦ diamonds and ♣ clubs (in German-speaking countries these are called Pik, Herz, Karo and Kreuz). Each suit has the same 13 ranks: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.
- Face cards are the Jack, Queen and King – the cards with a picture of a person on them.
- Most decks also include 2 jokers. They are not part of the 52 and are only used in games that call for a wild card or a special top card.
- Unless a game says otherwise, Ace is high: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. In some games or in sequences (runs), an Ace can also be low (A-2-3) or count as 1 point.
- In point-trick games (the Ace–Ten family like Skat or Pinochle), cards also carry point values: Aces are worth 11 points and Tens are worth 10, while other cards are worth less.
Playing with 32 cards
Some games (like Mau-Mau) use only 32 of the 52 cards: the ranks 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in each of the four suits, and no jokers.
Example: to turn a 52-card deck into a 32-card deck, take out every 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and both jokers. What's left – 7 through Ace, four suits – are the 32 cards you play with.
Shuffling, cutting and dealing
- Shuffling mixes the cards into a random order before every deal. The riffle shuffle (splitting the deck in two and interleaving the halves) and the overhand shuffle (letting small packets fall from one hand into the other) are the two most common methods – either is fine as long as the result is random.
- Cutting happens after shuffling: offer the deck to the player on your right, who lifts off a packet and places it on the table; you then put the rest of the deck on top. This stops the dealer from secretly keeping a favourable card on top.
- Dealing means giving out the cards: the dealer deals one card at a time, face down, to each player in turn until everyone has the number of cards the game requires. Deal to yourself last. In English-speaking and German-speaking countries, dealing and play move clockwise (to the left). In traditional games from Southern Europe and Latin America (such as Scopa, Briscola or Mus), dealing and play move anticlockwise (to the right).
- After the round, the role of dealer normally moves one seat to the left (clockwise) so everyone gets a turn to deal.
How trick-taking works
Trick-taking games (like Hearts, Bridge, Spades or Skat) are one of the biggest card game families. A game is played in small rounds called tricks:
- The lead: the first player plays any card from their hand face up onto the table. The suit of this card is the suit led.
- Following suit: each other player in turn must follow suit – play a card of the suit led, if they have one. If you have no cards of that suit, you may play any card you like.
- Trumps: in many games, one suit is designated as trumps (either chosen before play or turned up at random). A trump beats every card of the led suit, no matter how high. If several trumps are played to a trick, the highest trump wins.
- Winning the trick: if no trumps were played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. The winner collects the cards, places them face down in their trick pile, and leads to the next trick.
Common terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hand | the cards you are currently holding |
| draw pile / stock | the face-down pile you draw new cards from |
| discard pile | the pile of cards players have played or thrown away, usually face up |
| face up / face down | whether a card's front (up) or back (down) is showing |
| turn | one player's chance to act before play passes to the next player |
| round | one full cycle in which every player has had a turn, or one complete hand of the game |
| trick | the cards all players play in one round of a trick-taking game; the winner collects them |
| meld | a valid group of cards (e.g. three of a kind, or a run of consecutive cards) that scores points or can be laid down |
| deadwood | the cards left in your hand at the end of a round that don't form a meld – they usually count against you |
| wild card | a card that can stand in for any other card you need |
Good manners
Card games run on trust as much as on rules, so a few habits make every table more pleasant:
- Don't look at other players' cards, even by accident – hold your hand close and angled away from your neighbours.
- Keep your own hand hidden until the rules ask you to reveal it.
- Wait for your turn; don't play or comment on your cards out of turn.
- Shuffle and cut carefully, so everyone trusts the deal was fair.
- If you spot a mistake, say so – don't quietly fix it.
- Win and lose gracefully: no gloating, no sulking.
Once you're comfortable with these basics, pick a game and read its rules – every game on this site builds on what you just learned here.