52korttinen

52korttinen refers to a standard deck of playing cards consisting of 52 cards. The deck is divided into four suits—hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades—each containing thirteen ranks: Ace through King. In most contexts Jokers are not counted among the 52 cards, but many commercial decks include one or two Jokers that are used as wild cards or for special purposes in certain games.

Each suit contains Ace, 2 through 10, and the face cards Jack, Queen and King, for a total of 13 cards per suit and 52 cards overall.

History: The modern 52-card deck originated in Europe, with the four French suits becoming dominant. By the 18th and 19th centuries the 52-card structure with four suits and thirteen ranks per suit had become the standard in many Western card games. Jokers were introduced in the 19th century for games such as Euchre and later gained widespread use in various games.

Usage: A 52-card deck is used for a wide range of card games, including bridge, poker, blackjack, rummy and canasta, among others. Some games use Jokers as wild cards or keep them for special rules; other games remove certain cards or change the ranking rules depending on the game. In many games Ace may be high or low depending on the rules.

See also: Playing cards; Card deck; French-suited playing cards.