Clubs (suit)

Clubs (Template:Clubs) (Template:Langx) is one of the four playing card suits in the standard French-suited playing cards. The symbol was derived from that of the suit of Acorns in a German deck when French suits were invented, around 1480.<ref>Dummett (1980), p. 22.</ref>

In Skat and Doppelkopf, Clubs are the highest-ranked suit (whereas Diamonds and Bells are the trump suit in Doppelkopf). In Bridge, Clubs are the lowest suit.

Name

Its original French name is Template:Lang which means "clover" and the card symbol depicts a three-leafed clover leaf. The Italian name is Template:Lang ("flower"). However, the English name "Clubs" is a translation of basto, the Spanish name for the suit of batons, suggesting that Spanish-suited cards were used in England before French suits were invented.<ref>Parlett (2008), p. xiv.</ref>

In Germany, this suit is known as Template:Lang ("cross"), especially in the International Skat Regulations. In Austria, by contrast, it is almost exclusively called Template:Lang in reference to the French name, especially in the game of Bridge, where French names generally predominate. For example, Template:Lang is used instead of Template:Lang.

Characteristics

The symbol for the suit of Clubs depicts a very stylised three-leaf clover with its stalk oriented downwards.

Generally, the suit of Clubs is black in colour so they can be used in some games as a pair with Spades (suit), like Klondike (solitaire). However, the suit may also be green, for example as sometimes used in Bridge (where it is one of the two minor suits, along with Diamonds).

The gallery below shows a suit of Clubs from a French-suited playing cards of 52 cards. Not shown is the Knight of Clubs used in tarot card games:

• 
  Ace
• 
  2
• 
  3
• 
  4
• 
  5
• 
  6
• 
  7
• 
  8
• 
  9
• 
  10
• 
  Jack
• 
  Queen
• 
  King

Four-colour packs

The four aces of a four-colour deck; here, Clubs are green.

Four-colour packs are sometimes used in tournaments or online.<ref>Allan & Mackay (2007), p. 155.</ref> In four-colour packs, clubs may be:

• green in American Bridge and Poker,<ref>Four-Color Deck at pokernews.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.</ref> English Poker, French and Swiss four-colour decks,<ref name=pollett>Gallery 3 - Sizes, Shapes and Colours at a_pollett.tripod.com. Retrieved 4 Aug 2020.</ref>
• black in German Skat packs,<ref name=pollett/>
• blue in English Bridge and some American packs or
• pink in some other four-colour packs.

Coding

The symbol ♣ is already in the CP437 and thus also part of Windows WGL4. In Unicode a black ♣ and a white ♧ Club symbol are defined:

Literature

• Allan, Elkan and Hannah Mackay. The Poker Encyclopedia. London: Portico Template:Isbn
• Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Duckworth, London. Template:ISBN
• Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games London: Penguin Template:Isbn