In some cases several decks are shuffled together to form a single pack or shoe.
The composition of a deck is known to each player. The faces of the cards may all be unique, or there can be duplicates. Normally the backs of the cards are indistinguishable. Each card has two sides, the face and the back. Traditional card games are played with a deck or pack of playing cards which are identical in size and shape. A small number of card games played with traditional decks have formally standardized rules with international tournaments being held, but most are folk games whose rules may vary by region, culture, location or from circle to circle. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). The Card Players, 17th-century painting by Theodoor RomboutsĪ card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. For other uses, see Card game (disambiguation).
