The Origin of Card Games

May 27, 2011 | Article Category: Casino Games

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When buying just about anything just about anywhere nowadays, there is a good chance that many of the products you will choose from have been made in China. While modern day China is not quite the China of ancient times, it is still a place where many interesting items can be obtained.

If you look back about a thousand years into Chinese history, you will find that playing cards had their origin in China. The Chinese are also known for some other famous inventions, such as gunpowder, and while the Great Wall of China is indeed huge, it is not likely to have had the same impact on the modern world as playing cards have had.

There are documents that have been dated to the 9th century that note that the "leaf game" was played by the Tang Dynasty Princess Tongchang. The game was played along with members of the Wei clan. These original "cards" were considered to be money cards, which also happened to have four suits. The four suits, however were not the same four suits that we use on playing cards today. It seems that the cards were used to play with, but were also the "money" that was won by the winning gambler.

The "money cards" were also the forerunner of single sheets of paper. China, along with the rest of the world, had used scrolls to write on. Once the "money cards" were used, it became obvious to the Chinese that they could also use single sheets of paper for writing on, and did not have to use long scrolls any longer.

Although the original cards were found in China, they evolved and changed into what we know as playing cards today by being adopted by different nationalities around the world. The Muslim Mamelukes used playing cards, and it is possible that from the Mamelukes, the cards spread to Europe, ending up in France. In about 1500 CE, a deck of cards similar to the playing cards we use today were designed in France.

Although playing cards are obviously not used in their physical form when playing online, the images of the cards are used in games such as blackjack, poker, and other popular online casino games. Not only are the cards, or the card values, used in actual online casino card games, but they are also used when playing slot machine games. Many online casino slots have symbols that follow the theme of the slot game, along with the higher value card symbols, often beginning with 10, and continuing with Jack, Queen, King and Ace.