How many times have you picked up a deck of playing cards and thought about what those numbers and faces mean and what significance they have in the old world? Probably not often because you, like I, started playing some sort of card game before we could read. Was it with a grandparent who was retired and had the time? Or was it a parent or an older sibling?

In my case it was both a parent and a grandparent. My folks were avid bridge players, and my Marek grandparents played canasta and euchre. I waited a while for bridge but learned to hold cards and match suits and numbers.

But the bridge came quite early. My folks were in a bridge group of couples that went from home to home once a month. Two of the men were doctors, and back then almost all doctors delivered babies. On more than one occasion, one of the doctors would get a call and was off to the hospital to deliver a baby. That left a woman without a partner. If it were semi-late and the evening were at my parents’ house, I might be in bed. I was all of seven or eight. Mom would get me up and tell me that they needed me and that I would be Mrs. Farlander’s or Mrs. Whalen’s partner, so I would bid and play. The bidding was obviously bad, but I could play the cards, follow suit, and even trump in if it was the best move. Both wives were always kind. I guess anyone is better than no one.

Poker and blackjack soon followed, as did gin rummy, solitaire, and cribbage. Holidays had the two grandfathers, Dad, and me playing cribbage almost every time. I was a card player. But I never tried to figure out any of the history of cards until the war with Iraq. Someone in the military came out with a deck of cards. The cards had pictures of the most wanted Iraqis as the war progressed. Of course, Saddam Hussein was the Ace.

The exact origin of playing cards is unknown, but it is believed to have started in China around 1000 A.D. It may have started with paper, but some believe that the first cards were Mahjong tiles. Card playing moved west, and by 1375, it was in Europe. France, Germany, and Italy have each claimed that such a creation was started in their country.

Let’s start with the number of cards in a deck, 52. Suits, 4. And the number of cards in a suit. 13. Let’s explore that a bit. Four suits, just like the four seasons. Each suit has 13 cards, just like the number of weeks in a season. There are 12 face cards, just like the number of months each year. If you add up all the cards, they total 364. Add one joker, and you have a year. Add the other joker, and you have a leap year.

There are two basic theories about the four suits and what they represent. Originally, there were two suits in China- goblets and sorcerers. Then there were four, swords, cups, coins, and batons. Then came the modern four.

Later, the two red suits represented warmth as spring and summer. Spades and clubs are winter and fall. Or you can choose to think of them as elements. Heart is water while the diamond is earth. Spades are for air and clubs are for fire. Want to get religious? Hearts are the church, diamonds, the working class, spades the warriors, and clubs the farmers.

How about the kings, queens, and jacks? If you use France for the pictures, the King of Hearts is Charles, the first king of the Franks. The Spade King is for David of David and Goliath. The King of Diamonds is Julius Caesar for his love of Cleopatra, and the King of Clubs is Alexander the Great.

The queens are just as diverse. Hearts is for Judith of the Old Testament, diamonds for biblical Rachel, Jacob’s wife, clubs are for Lady Argea of Argos, while spades are for Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. That black queen is figured in some games as the most precious. So, I would think it is smart to pick spades. Who can deny wisdom?

Jacks are even less known, so let’s move to the numbered cards 1 through 10. Probably the most famous is the Ace. It is the most powerful card in the suit and is the only card that can be the highest or lowest, depending on the game. Originally, in France the card was called the “Pike,” representing a spear. The Vietnamese referred to the Ace of Spades as the “Death Card.” It was the prediction of death. The North Vietnamese, known for fearing this card, would often find a dead comrade with an Ace of Spades on the bodies of North Vietnamese killed by the Americans to instill fear in the Viet Cong soldiers.

Today, the Ace of Spades is often found tattooed on motorcyclists as a symbol of strength and fearlessness.

Unfortunately, knowing the background of a deck of cards does not make one a better player. Depending on the game, some are pure luck, and some ignore luck, and at the end of the evening, the smartest player will walk away with the funds. That is unless you are playing against the house at a casino. Unless you are a card counter, the house will always have the edge. It always helps, though, to bring a bit of luck and an understanding of finance with you.

· Dennis Marek can be contacted at llamalaw23@gmail.com.