Deck

The deck of French playing cards is the most common deck of playing cards used today. It includes thirteen ranks in each of the four French suits: clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠), with reversible "face" or court cards. Each suit includes an ace, a king, queen and jack, each depicted with a symbol of its suit; and ranks two through 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 colorful than the other, are added to commercial decks, as some card games require these extra cards. Modern playing cards carry index labels on opposite corners or in all four corners to facilitate identifying the cards when they overlap and so that they appear identical for players on opposite sides. The most popular standard pattern of the French deck is sometimes referred to as "English" or "Anglo-American" pattern.