joker

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A modern form of representation of the joker

A Joker ( English for jokers from Latin iocus , joke , fun , or joculator juggler , jester , harlequin ) in Austria , Germany and France also Jolly called, is a playing card of different card games . Usually there is a picture of a court jester on it . The joker is mostly used as a "wild card", ie as a substitute for any card.

The joker only appears in games with French suits . There are normally three jokers per deck of 52 regular cards, but not all three are necessarily used: the most common variant of Rummy , for example, has two decks of cards , but only four jokers in total. "Since the joker is characteristic of this game as an additional card that can be used at will, it can have its name after him, cf. English (colloquial) rum , rummy 'funny, funny, strange, funny, funny guy'." There are also jokers in Canasta , Buraco and some poker variants (see also Wildcard (Poker) ).

The joker is sometimes seen as the last remnant of the independent, numbered trump row in the tarot or tarot sheet. This trump card is known as Folly , Le Fou , Il Matto , or The Fool , later it became the Skys . In the tarot game it is the highest card  value - the Skys surpasses all other trumps. Here the fool is joking, here the fool is having fun or joke ; In its modern development, however, it is traced back to an American development of the 19th century, based on the game Euchre , which was brought to America by Alsatian immigrants . On the other hand, Tarot, Tarock, Tarocchi and also the Baden-Württemberg variant Cego were very popular games from around 1750 until well into the 19th century, and Alsace was one of the areas of distribution - which means that there is a possibility that the initial idea actually dated Tarot dates.

  • Fool from the Visconti-Sforza-Trionfi maps (before 1500)

  • Charles VI (or Gringonneur) Leaf (before 1500)

  • Tarot sheet by Jean Dodal (Lyon, after 1700)

  • Excuse (Skys or Sküs) (1910)

In England, the joker has long been known as the jester (court jester).

Jokers are usually only used in games of 52 or more 52 regular cards. In games with reduced hands (such as Schafkopf , Skat and Bayerisches Tarock ) there are usually no jokers. Exceptions are Euchre and a variant of the game Doppelkopf . In the German Journal , there is generally no wild cards. In some games with German cards, the Weli is used as a joker.

Before 1850 the existence of jokers cannot be proven. Since then, the game of Euchre has developed in the USA . The trump jack was referred to as the bower . The modified form was now a new card, the best bower was born as the highest value of the game , the forerunner of the joker. The old limit of the 52 game has now been broken and a 53rd card has been introduced. The first American Joker or best Bower was added to the game London Club Pack in 1857 by the playing card manufacturer Samuel Hart in New York . In Europe, the joker came into fashion around 1880. In Belgium it was first mentioned or produced on June 14, 1882 in the Mesmaekers company .

See also

literature

  • Tom Dawson, Judy Dawson: The Hochmann Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards . US Games Systems; 2000.

Web links

Commons : Joker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden | Joker | Spelling, meaning, definition, origin. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .
  2. ^ Rummy. In: ASS Altenburger playing cards. Retrieved October 22, 2019 (German).
  3. ↑ DWDS - Digital Dictionary of the German Language. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .
  4. ↑ History of the Joker. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .
  5. ↑ History of the Joker. Retrieved October 22, 2019 .