
The 52-card standard deck of French-suited playing card cards is the most widely used. However, in many other countries around the world it is often used with older standard packs that have different suit symbols and sizes. The English pattern package is the most popular pattern in the world and the only one that’s available in America and Britain. The Belgian Geneoese Pattern is second. It was created in France but has been used worldwide.
A standard deck has 52 cards (4 suits of 13). Each suit (clubs ♣, diamonds ♦, hearts ♥, or spades ♠) contains an ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, and king. There are no duplicates.
Additionally, a deck can contain two, or sometimes four, unsuited “jokers”, for a total of 54 or 56 cards. Generally one joker is the same as any other, but their artworks may differ.
A standard 52-card deck comprises 13 ranks in each of the four French suits: clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠), with reversible (double-headed) court cards (face cards). Each suit includes an Ace, a King, Queen and Jack, each depicted alongside a symbol of its suit; and numerals or pip cards from the Deuce (Two) to the Ten, with each card depicting that many symbols (pips) of its suit. Anywhere from one to six (most often two or three since the mid-20th century) Jokers, often distinguishable with one being more colourful than the other, are added to commercial decks, as some card games require these extra cards.[2][3]
A standard deck of cards contains 52 cards, 13 each of the four suits, and one or two jokers. These are used for different games. For years, you can play a different card game every day. It is possible to find up to 10,000 games and variations of these games.
Other types of decks have different numbers of cards. Pinochle decks have 48 cards. This includes two copies of each 9-10, queen, king and ace cards from all four suits.
Deck of Cards Questions
There are 52 cards in a standard deck of cards
- There are 4 of each card (4 Aces, 4 Kings, 4 Queens, etc.)
- There are 4 suits (Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, and Spades) and there are 13 cards
in each suit (Clubs/Spades are black, Hearts/Diamonds are red) - Without replacement means the card IS NOT put back into the deck. With
replacement means the card IS put back into the deck.
Examples:
What is the probability that when two cards are drawn from a deck of cards without replacement that both of them will be 8’s?
𝑃(𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 8′𝑠) = 𝑃(𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 8) ∙ 𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 8)
4
𝑃(𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 8) =
52
- There are three 8’s left in the deck if one is pulled and not replaced, and 51 total cards remaining.
3
𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 8) =
51
𝑃(𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 8′𝑠) = 4 ∙ 3
52 51
12
=
2652
1
=
221
= .0045 𝑜𝑟 .45%
What is the probability that both cards drawn (without replacement) will be spades?
𝑃(𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠) = 𝑃(𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒) ∙ 𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒)
13
𝑃(𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒) =
52
- There are 12 spades left in the deck if one is pulled and not replaced, and 51 total cards remaining.
12
𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒) =
51
𝑃(𝐵𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠) =
13 12
∙ =
52 51
156
2652
1
= = .0588 𝑜𝑟 5.88%
17
What is the probability of drawing a red king and then a black 7 without replacement?
𝑃(𝑅𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 7) = 𝑃(𝑅𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔) ∙ 𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛)
- There are 4 of each card, so there are 2 red and 2 black of each card. This means we have 2 red kings in the deck, and 2 black 7’s in the deck.
2
𝑃(𝑅𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔) =
52
*Even with a red king drawn first, there will still be 2 black 7’s in the deck, but only 51 cards remaining.
2
𝑃(𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛) =
51
𝑃(𝑅𝑒𝑑 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 7) =
2 2
∙ =
52 51
4
2652
1
=
663
= .0015 𝑜𝑟 .15%
What is the probability of being dealt a flush (5 cards of all the same suit) from the first 5 cards in a deck?
- The first card it does not matter what the suit is. Any of the suits can be drawn initially, as long as the next four cards are of the same suit as the original card.
- There are 13 of each suit in the deck, so after the first card is drawn, there are only 12 of that suit, then 11 left for the third card, 10 left for the fourth card, and 9 left for the final card. Also, there will be one less card total in the deck each time.
𝑃(𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑠ℎ) = 𝑃(2𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡) ∙ 𝑃(3𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡) ∙ 𝑃(4𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡)
- 𝑃(5𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡)
𝑃(𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑠ℎ) =
12 11
∙
51 50
10 9
∙ ∙ =
49 48
11880
5997600
33
=
16660
= .00198 𝑜𝑟 .198%
What is the probability of drawing two face cards, and then 2 numbered cards, without replacement?
- There are 12 face cards (Kings, queens, and jacks) and there are 36 numbered cards (2’s through 10’s).
- After the first face card is drawn, there will be 11 face cards leftover, and 51 total cards remaining.
𝑃(2 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠) =
12 11
∙
52 51
- Now we only have 50 cards left in the deck, but all 36 of the numbered cards are still in there. After one is drawn, there are 35 numbered cards remaining of the 49 total cards that now remain.
𝑃(2 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠) =
36 35
∙
50 49
𝑃(2 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 2 # 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠) = 𝑃(2 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠) ∙ 𝑃(2 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠)
𝑃(2 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 2 # 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠) =
12 11
∙
52 51
36 35
∙ ∙
50 49
166320
=
6497400
198
=
7735
= .0256 𝑜𝑟 2.56%
What is the probability of drawing an Ace 3 times in a row with replacement?
𝑃(3 𝐴𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑤) = 𝑃(𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑 1 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑐𝑒) ∙ 𝑃(𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑 2 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑐𝑒) ∙ 𝑃(𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑 3 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑐𝑒)
- This time, we are replacing the card, which means there will always be 4 Aces in the deck, and always 52 total cards.
4
𝑃(𝐺𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑐𝑒) =
52
4
𝑃(3 𝐴𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑤) =
52
4 4
∙ ∙ =
52 52
1
2197
= .000455 = .0455%
Standard 52-Card Deck
The French deck is the name of the standard deck of cards. This deck highlights its origin. The standard deck has 52 cards, and the cards have thirteen ranks. These are the numbers two through ten, the queen, king and the ace.
This particular order of rank is called ‘ace high’. Sometimes, the ace ranks higher than the king. This is called ace high. In other situations, the ace may rank lower than two. This is called ace low. The ace may rank high or low depending on the situation. The standard 52-card deck includes four suits: clubs, spades and diamonds; as well as hearts. Let’s take a look at some common questions people have about the 52-card standard deck.
Deck of Cards FAQ
Are there 54 cards in a deck?
There are 52 cards in a deck of playing cards (54 if counting the two Jokers).
How are 52 cards divided?
How many Cards are in a Deck?
How many Aces are in a Deck of Cards?
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