An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax.[1] Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers.[2] In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.
The word "ace" (/ˈeɪs/, EYSS) comes from the Old French word as (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one pip, before it was a term for a playing card.[3] Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'.
Historically, the ace had a low value and this still holds in many popular European games (in fact many European decks, including the French- and Latin-suited decks, do not use the "A" index, instead keeping the numeral "1"). The modern convention of "ace high" seemed to have happened in stages. Card games, before they arrived in Europe, had suits that were in reverse ranking. In the Chinese game of Mǎ diào, which lacked court cards, the suit of coins was inverted so the 1 of Coins was the highest in its suit.[4][5] In the Ganjifa games of Persia, India, and Arabia, only the pip cards of half the suits were reversed so the 1 ranked just below the lowest court card. This convention carried over to early European games like Ombre, Maw, and Trionfi (Tarot). During the 15th and 16th centuries, the ranking of all suits were becoming progressive. A few games from this period like Triomphe, has the ace between the ten and the jack. The earliest known game in which the ace is the highest card of its suit is Trappola.[6] In Ace-Ten games like Brusquembille, Pinochle and Sixty-Six, the ace dragged the 10 along with it to the top so the ranking became A-10-K. Some games promoted the deuces and treys too like Put, Truc, and Tressette. "King high" games were still being made in the 17th century, for example Cribbage. Many games, such as poker and blackjack, allow the player to choose whether the ace is used as a high or low card. This duality allows players in some other games to use it as both at once; some variants of Rummy allow players to form melds, of rank K-A-2 or similar. This is known as "going around the corner".
It was not only the French deck which experienced this promotion, but some games involving the Swiss and German deck also evolved into using the Daus (deuce) as the highest card.[7] The ace had disappeared during the 15th century, so the deuce took its place.[6] The Ass (ace) and Daus (deuce) were conflated into a single card and the names are used interchangeably along with Sau (sow) as early cards of that rank depicted a pig. Some decks in southern Germany use "A" for the index because "D" is reserved for Dame (Queen) in French-suited decks. Confusion is also avoided as German-suited decks lack numbered cards below "7" or "6". Despite using French-suited cards, Russians call the Ace a Deuce (tuz), a vestige of a period when German cards were predominant in central and eastern Europe.
Referencesedit
^Mann, Sylvia (1990). All Cards on the Table. Leinfelden: Jonas Verlag. pp. 128–130.
^Parlett, David (1990). The Oxford Guide to Card Games. Oxford: Oxford. p. 32.
^Lo, Andrew (2000). "The Late Ming Game of Ma Diao". The Playing-Card. 29 (3): 115–136.
^Lo, Andrew (2000). "The Game of Leaves". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 63 (3): 389, 390, 405. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00008466.
^ abDummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. London: Duckworth. pp. 25–55.
^John McLeod. "Games played with German suited cards". pagat.com/. from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
December 14, 2023
other, uses, disambiguation, clubs, diamonds, redirect, here, other, uses, clubs, disambiguation, diamonds, disambiguation, also, hearts, hearts, disambiguation, spades, spades, disambiguation, playing, card, domino, with, single, standard, french, deck, singl. For other uses see Ace disambiguation Ace of clubs and Ace of diamonds redirect here For other uses see Ace of clubs disambiguation and Ace of diamonds disambiguation See also Ace of hearts Ace of Hearts disambiguation Ace of spades and Ace of Spades disambiguation An ace is a playing card die or domino with a single pip In the standard French deck an ace has a single suit symbol a heart diamond spade or a club located in the middle of the card sometimes large and decorated especially in the case of the ace of spades This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax 1 Although this requirement was abolished in 1960 the tradition has been kept by many card makers 2 In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards clubs in France diamonds in Russia and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space Four aces from a standard 52 card deckEtymology editThe word ace ˈ eɪ s EYSS comes from the Old French word as from Latin as meaning a unit from the name of a small Roman coin It originally meant the side of a die with only one pip before it was a term for a playing card 3 Since this was the lowest roll of the die it traditionally meant bad luck in Middle English but as the ace is often the highest playing card its meaning has since changed to mean high quality excellence Ace promotion edit nbsp Ace of batons bastos from a Spanish deck nbsp Sau Vienna 1573 Historically the ace had a low value and this still holds in many popular European games in fact many European decks including the French and Latin suited decks do not use the A index instead keeping the numeral 1 The modern convention of ace high seemed to have happened in stages Card games before they arrived in Europe had suits that were in reverse ranking In the Chinese game of Mǎ diao which lacked court cards the suit of coins was inverted so the 1 of Coins was the highest in its suit 4 5 In the Ganjifa games of Persia India and Arabia only the pip cards of half the suits were reversed so the 1 ranked just below the lowest court card This convention carried over to early European games like Ombre Maw and Trionfi Tarot During the 15th and 16th centuries the ranking of all suits were becoming progressive A few games from this period like Triomphe has the ace between the ten and the jack The earliest known game in which the ace is the highest card of its suit is Trappola 6 In Ace Ten games like Brusquembille Pinochle and Sixty Six the ace dragged the 10 along with it to the top so the ranking became A 10 K Some games promoted the deuces and treys too like Put Truc and Tressette King high games were still being made in the 17th century for example Cribbage Many games such as poker and blackjack allow the player to choose whether the ace is used as a high or low card This duality allows players in some other games to use it as both at once some variants of Rummy allow players to form melds of rank K A 2 or similar This is known as going around the corner It was not only the French deck which experienced this promotion but some games involving the Swiss and German deck also evolved into using the Daus deuce as the highest card 7 The ace had disappeared during the 15th century so the deuce took its place 6 The Ass ace and Daus deuce were conflated into a single card and the names are used interchangeably along with Sau sow as early cards of that rank depicted a pig Some decks in southern Germany use A for the index because D is reserved for Dame Queen in French suited decks Confusion is also avoided as German suited decks lack numbered cards below 7 or 6 Despite using French suited cards Russians call the Ace a Deuce tuz a vestige of a period when German cards were predominant in central and eastern Europe References edit Mann Sylvia 1990 All Cards on the Table Leinfelden Jonas Verlag pp 128 130 Knuckle White A Brief History of Playing Cards Parlett David 1990 The Oxford Guide to Card Games Oxford Oxford p 32 Lo Andrew 2000 The Late Ming Game of Ma Diao The Playing Card 29 3 115 136 Lo Andrew 2000 The Game of Leaves Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 63 3 389 390 405 doi 10 1017 s0041977x00008466 a b Dummett Michael 1980 The Game of Tarot London Duckworth pp 25 55 John McLeod Games played with German suited cards pagat com Archived from the original on 28 December 2010 Retrieved 2010 11 25 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ace amp oldid 1187785543, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
