The Most Commonly Used Terms Associated with Card Games

Many people across the world love playing card games. As a beginner, it is important to understand some basic terms. This can enhance your enjoyment while playing and give you more confidence. Below is a simple guide to the terms players commonly use when playing card games.

Basic terms

Whether you’re playing at a land-based casino or online using a casino app, you will encounter the same basic terms. The opportunity to play live dealer games at online casinos means you interact with a human dealer and the action is streamed in real-time to your screen.

• A deck refers to the full set of cards you use in a game. A standard deck consists of 52 cards. The cards are divided into four suits.
• A hand refers to the set of cards you hold during a single round or deal. The number of cards you hold depends on the game. For example, in most cases, a poker hand consists of five cards.
• A suit refers to the category of cards. Cards can be clubs, spades, diamonds, and hearts.
• A pip is a small symbol that reveals the numerical worth of a card. It’s a key to understanding the place of the card in the deck.
• Rank refers to the order and value of the cards from highest to lowest. The face cards (court cards) – the King, Queen, and Jack – are highest in value. The Ace is a special card and can be highest or lowest in rank depending on the game. The number cards go from 10 as the highest to 2 as the lowest in rank.

Gameplay terms

• To shuffle means to randomly mix up the cards before dealing them to ensure fairness.
• To deal means to distribute cards to players at the start of the game. This is the function of the dealer.
• To draw means to take a card from the deck when it’s your turn.
• To play means to place a card on the table when it’s your turn. Players may gain social media popularity by sharing their iconic plays in highlight reels on social media platforms.
• To bid means to state the number of tricks or points you believe you can win during a hand. This happens in games like Bridge.
• To discard means to take a card from your hand and place it in a pile which is often known as the discard pile.
• A round is complete when each player has taken a turn.
• A trick is a set of cards you play in a single round and the player who plays the best card wins the trick.
• A trump card ranks highest in the game and wins the hand.
• A point is a score you earn based on the cards you collect or tricks you win.
• The pot is a collection of bets in the center of the table in a game like poker.

Strategies and techniques

If you want to spend quality time playing cards with others, it’s worthwhile learning some strategies and techniques.

• To bluff means you pretend your hand is weaker or stronger than it is to fool your opponents. You will use this strategy in a game of poker.
• To hold means to keep certain cards in your hand so you can use them strategically further on in the game.
• A discard strategy is to decide which cards to discard, so you can improve your hand or hinder opponents.

Card combinations

• A pair is two cards of the same rank, such as two 5s.
• A flush is a hand where all the cards are of the same suit.
• A straight is a sequence of cards in numerical order. It doesn’t matter what suit they belong to. 
• A full house is a hand that contains three cards of one rank and two of another.
• Four of a Kind refers to four cards of the same rank, such as four Kings.

A deck often contains an extra card called a joker which you can substitute for other cards to make winning combinations.