| A playing card |
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A playing card is a piece of specially
prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, or
thin plastic, figured with
distinguishing motifs and used as one of
a set for playing card games. Playing
cards are typically palm-sized for
convenient handling.
A complete set of cards is called a pack
or deck, and the subset of cards held at
one time by a player during a game is
commonly called a hand. A deck of cards
may be used for playing a great variety
of card games, some of which may also
incorporate gambling. Because playing
cards are both standardized and commonly
available, they are often adapted for
other uses, such as magic tricks,
cartomancy, encryption, board games, or
building a house of cards.
The front (or "face") of each card
carries markings that distinguish it
from the other cards in the deck and
determine its use under the rules of the
game being played. The back of each card
is identical for all cards in any
particular deck, and usually of a single
color or formalized design. The back of
playing cards is sometimes used for
advertising. For most games, the cards
are assembled into a deck, and their
order is randomized by shuffling. |
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