They reached Europe in the 1370s when Italian and Spanish merchants brought them in. The earliest playing cards were first made of heavier materials like rock and wood, but later slips of paper with dotted designs like modern dominoes were used.įrom China, playing cards slowly spread across India, Egypt and Persia. This means the first playing cards were used for dice games and games like Mahjong rather than table games. During this time in the 9th century, the first complete playing card deck only had 32 cards, which is the maximum number of combinations you can get from a pair of dice. The first playing cards can be traced back over 1,000 years ago to the Chinese Tang Dynasty. Playing cards were not even initially used for games like poker or live dealer blackjack. But the history of playing cards doesn’t begin in the West. The United States Playing Card Company is one of the biggest playing card manufacturers, with over 100 million decks produced annually. In the U.S., almost every household has a deck of playing cards. A Brief History of Playing Cards Around the World Take a look at the history of playing cards and a few fun facts you probably didn’t know about them.

It doesn’t matter whether you believe playing cards are just numbers or important omens they’re an integral part of many beloved casino table games.

Nine could be your personal lucky number, but the nine of diamonds is considered the unluckiest card or the Curse of Scotland.

To some people, a card like an ace could create a strong hand, while a spade could be a symbol of death for someone else. There are many meanings attached to playing cards.

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