The History of Card Playing

Playing cards are known for their various games ofFrom Egypt,the deck of cards moved farther West,
skill and chance including poker, blackjack, solitaire,into Europe.
bridge, and many other games. Playing cards are usedIn the 13th century, The French invented the red and
in gambling, magic, solitary games, card houses, andblack deck with simple symbols that became the basis
other various forms of entertainment. A deck of cardsfor the current common deck of cards.
can be found everywhere, in dollar stores, in groceryEarly cards had no Queens. This reflected the fact
stores, on the Internet, etc. Because playing cards arethat there were no women in the Royal courts. Even
taken for granted, few people know the history of thetoday, the French deck of cards have no Queens.
cards that they play with.The games of skill and chance that could be played
Historians believe that playing cards were invented firstwith a deck of cards bred the use of the playing cards
by the Persians. From there, They moved East toas a gambling tool and gambling quickly became a
China and West to Egypt.favorite pastime among card players. So much of a
The Chinese were the fist to invent the suit, Coins. Thisfavorite pastime that in the 14th century, the church
is a recurring suit throughout history. It is known ad bothbegan to try to limit the sale of playing cards due to
Coins and Diamonds today.the fact that people began spending more time and
Egypt was where the four suits concept was firstmoney gambling than going to and giving to the church.
invented. These four suits were called Swords, Sticks,The church won out on their battle and the playing
Cups, and Coins. These suits are still used in the 78cards were banned throughout most of Europe.
card Tarot deck.