The Italian-style suits are the original suits (which is why the English term 'spade' refers not to the tool, but derived from the Italian word for swords, 'spade', which this suit represents), the suits found on the divinatory Tarot deck, and the suits found in the oldest surviving European decks. The differences between European decks are mostly in the number of cards in each suit (for example, thirteen in the commonly-known Anglo-American deck, fourteen in the French Tarot, eight in some games in Germany and Austria, ten in Italy, five in Hungarian Illustrated Tarock) and in the inclusion or exclusion of an extra series of (usually) twenty-one numbered cards known as tarocks or trumps, sometimes considered as a fifth suit, but more properly regarded as a group of special suitless cards, to form what is known as a Tarot deck.

there is exactly one card of any given rank in any given suit.

the numbers indicating which cards within a suit are 'better', 'higher' or 'more valuable' than others, whereas there is no order between the different suits and.

there are exactly four suits (possibly with the addition of some non-suited cards, see below).3 Adding extra suits to the Anglo-American deckĪlthough many different types of deck have been known and used in Europe since the introduction of playing cards around the 14th century (see playing cards)-and several different ones are still used in various regions for various games-almost all of them have in common that:.2 Suits in games with traditional decks.

Poker face cards spades