King (playing card)

"King of clubs", "King of diamonds", "King of hearts", and "King of spades" redirect here. For other uses, see King of clubs (disambiguation), King of diamonds (disambiguation), King of hearts (disambiguation), and King of spades (disambiguation).
King cards of all four suits in the English pattern

The king is a playing card with a picture of a king displayed on it. The king is usually the highest-ranking face card. In the French version of playing cards and tarot decks, the king immediately outranks the queen. In Italian and Spanish playing cards, the king immediately outranks the knight. In German and Swiss playing cards, the king immediately outranks the Ober. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the Ace is higher. Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits.[1] In the ace–ten family of games such as pinochle and Schnapsen, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king.[2]

  1. ^ Parlett, David (1990). The Oxford Guide to Card Games. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 252.
  2. ^ McLeod, John. Ace-Ten Games at pagat.com. Retrieved 25 February 2016.