Joker (playing card)

The Joker is a special card found in most modern decks of playing cards, or a Mahjong tile in some Mahjong game sets.

Related Topics:
Playing card - Mahjong tile - Mahjong

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There are usually two Jokers per deck, and the artwork on the card varies depending on the deck's publisher. Often, one Joker card will be in black and white, while the other will be in full color. At other times, one may be a red joker, while the other is black. In games where the jokers may need to be compared, the colored joker usually outranks the black-and-white one. With the red/black jokers, the red one is counted as a heart/diamond and the black is used to substitute clubs/spades. The joker often shows a court jester.

Related Topics:
Publisher - Black and white - Court jester

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The Joker's use is greatly varied. Many card games omit the card from use entirely; others, such as a 25-card variant of Euchre, make it one of the most important in the game. Often, the card is a wild card, allowed to represent a range of existing cards. The term "The Joker's wild" originates from this practice.

Related Topics:
Card game - Euchre - Wild card

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It is believed that the term Joker comes from Jucker, the Alsatian name for Euchre, since the card was originally introduced for games of that family. Alternatively, it may represent a combination of Jucker and Poker, as these are the games in which, originally, it was most commonly featured.

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The Joker can be an extremely beneficial, or an extremely harmful, card. In Euchre it is often used to represent Benny, the highest trump. In poker, it is wild. However, in the children's game Old Maid, a solitary joker represents the Maid, a card that is to be avoided.

Related Topics:
Euchre - Benny - Poker - Wild - Old Maid

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The Joker sometimes bears an S superimposed over a U, wrongly believed to be the original dollar sign.

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The Joker is often compared to 'The Fool' in the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck. They share many similarities both in appearance and play function; the Fool is often the highest trump.

Related Topics:
The Fool - Major Arcana - Tarot

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The Batman enemy, The Joker's look was originally based on this playing card.

Related Topics:
Batman - The Joker

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