A jack or knave is a playing card which, in traditional French and English decks, pictures a man in the traditional or historic aristocratic or courtier dress, generally associated with Europe of the 16th or 17th century. The usual rank of a jack is between the ten and the queen. As the lowest face (or 'court') card, the jack often represents a minimum standard — for example, many poker games require a minimum hand of a pair of jacks ('jacks or better') in order to open wagering.

History[edit]

The earliest predecessor of the knave was the thānī nā'ib (second or under-deputy) in the Mamluk card deck. This was the lowest of the three court cards and like all court cards was depicted through abstract art or calligraphy. When brought over to Italy and Spain, the thānī nā'ib was made into an infantry soldier or page ranking below the knight card. In France, where the card was called the valet, the queen was inserted between the king and knight. The knight was subsequently dropped out of non-Tarot decks leaving the valet directly under the queen. The king-queen-valet format then made its way into England.

For example, 7-7 vs J-10, with the final board coming Q-9-8-7-2 (even making a set of sevens on the turn didn't save the pocket pair) A flush. For example, 8♥ 8♦ vs Q♠ J♠ with the final board coming 10♠ 9♠ A♥ 3♥ 8♠ (here, the same river card that gave the eights their 'lucky' set also created the flush). At showdown in Texas Holdem Poker, you make the best hand possible with ONLY 5 cards. No other cards count, and the cards speak for themselves. In your first example, you split the pot, you are. If there are no wild cards, this is the highest type of poker hand: five cards of the same suit in sequence - such as J-10-9-8-7. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher.

As early as the mid-16th century the card was known in England as the knave (meaning a male servant of royalty). Although jack was in common usage to designate the knave, the term became more entrenched when, in 1864,^[1] American cardmaker Samuel Hart published a deck using 'J' instead of 'Kn' to designate the lowest-ranking court card. The knave card had been called a jack as part of the terminology of the game All Fours since the 17th century, but this usage was considered common or low class. However, because the card abbreviation for knave was so close to that of the king ('Kn' versus 'K'), the two were easily confused. This confusion was even more pronounced after the markings indicating suits and rankings were moved to the corners of the card, a move which enabled players to 'fan' a hand of cards without obscuring the individual suits and ranks. The earliest deck known of this type is from 1693, but such positioning did not become widespread until reintroduced by Hart in 1864, together with the knave-to-jack change. Books of card games published in the third quarter of the 19th century still referred to the 'knave' however, a term that is still recognized in the United Kingdom. (Note the exclamation by Estella in Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations: 'He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!')

Representations[edit]

In the English pattern,^[2] the jack and the other face cards represent no one in particular,^[3] in contrast to the historical French practice, in which each court card is said to represent a particular historical or mythological personage. The valets in the Paris pattern have traditionally been associated with such figures as Ogier the Dane (a knight of Charlemagne and legendary hero of the chansons de geste) for the jack of spades;^[4]La Hire (French warrior) for the Jack of Hearts; Hector (mythological hero of the Iliad) for the jack of diamonds; and Lancelot or Judas Maccabeus for the jack of clubs.^[5][6]

In some southern Italian decks, there are androgynous knaves that are sometimes referred to as maids. In the Sicilian Tarot deck, the knaves are unambiguously female and are also known as maids.^[7] As this deck also includes queens, it is the only traditional set to survive into modern times with two ranks of female face cards. This pack may have been influenced by the obsolete Portuguese deck which also had female knaves. The modern Mexican pattern also has female knaves.^[8]

Poetry[edit]

The figure of the jack has been used in many literary works throughout history. Among these is one by 17th-century English writer Samuel Rowlands. The Four Knaves is a series of Satirical Tracts, with Introduction and Notes by E. F. Rimbault, upon the subject of playing cards. His 'The Knave of Clubbs: Tis Merry When Knaves Meet' was first published in 1600, then again in 1609 and 1611. In accordance with a promise at the end of this book, Rowlands went on with his series of Knaves, and in 1612 wrote 'The Knave of Harts: Haile Fellowe, Well Meet', where his 'Supplication to Card-Makers' appears,^[9] thought to have been written to the English manufacturers who copied to the English decks the court figures created by the French.

Example cards[edit]

The cards shown here are from a Paris pattern deck (where the rank is known as the 'valet'), and include the historical and mythological names associated with them. The English pattern of the jacks can be seen in the photo at the top of the article.

• Jack of spades: Ogier

• Jack of hearts: La Hire

• Jack of diamonds: Hector

• Jack of clubs: Lancelot

Trickster figure[edit]

The jack, traditionally the lowest face card, has often been promoted to a higher or the highest position in the traditional ranking of cards, where the ace or king generally occupied the first rank. This is seen in the earliest known European card games, such as Karnöffel, as well as in more recent ones such as Euchre. Games with such promotion include:

See also[edit]

• 'The Jack', a song by AC/DC, in which the playing card is a metaphor for a sexually transmitted disease
• The Knave of Hearts, a character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
• The Jack of Diamonds, a group of artists founded in 1909 in Moscow
• 'Jack of Diamonds', a traditional folk song
• Jack of Diamonds, the title used by George de Sand in the 1994 anime Mobile Fighter G Gundam
• Knave of Hearts, a 1954 film directed by René Clément
• The Jack of Hearts (Jack Hart), a Marvel Comics superhero
• The Jack of Hearts, a 1919 short Western film
• 'Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts', a song by Bob Dylan
• Pub (trans. The Jack), an album by Đorđe Balašević.
• King, Queen, Knave, a novel by Vladimir Nabokov first published in Russian under his pen name, V. Sirin

References[edit]

1. ^Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society, p. 290, Rodney P. Carlisle - Sage Publications INC 2009 ISBN1-4129-6670-1
2. ^English pattern at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
3. ^Berry, John. (1998). 'Frequently asked questions'. The Playing-Card. Vol. 27-2. pp. 43-45.
4. ^Games and Fun with Playing Cards by Joseph Leeming on Google Books
5. ^The Four King Truth at the Urban Legends Reference Pages
6. ^Courts on playing cards, by David Madore, with illustrations of the English and French court cards
7. ^Tarocco Siciliano, early form at the International Playing-Card Society. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
8. ^Scotoni, Ralph. Mexican Pattern at Alta Carta. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
9. ^The Knave of Harts: Haile Fellowe, Well Meet, where his Supplication to Card-Makers by Samuel Rowlands (1600)
   Good card-makers (if there be any goodness in you), Apparrell us with more respected care,
   Put us in hats, our caps are worne thread-bare, Let us have standing collers, in the fashion;
   

Poker 7 8 9 10 J Q K

Hand rankings[edit]

Poker 7 8 9 10 J Cole

The most fundamental of poker concern the hand rankings, because the hand rankings determine the winner. While betting is extremely important to the game, players are wagering on whether they have won, therefore a complete understanding of hand rankings must come first. These hand rankings do not apply to games played 'low', such as lowball or razz; see the section on 'low hands' below.

The cards are ranked thus, from low to high: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. An ace is the highest card, but it can also function as the lowest in completing a straight. The two is usually called a 'deuce', and the three is sometimes called a 'trey'. Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace are often abbreviated T, J, Q, K, and A, respectively, so that each card name has a single number or letter associated with it. This is commonly used in describing hands, for example, A-2-3-4-5 is a hand with an ace, a two ('deuce'), a three, a four, and a five — not necessarily in that order, but presenting them in that order makes it clear that the hand is a straight. A hand may also be written, say, A-A-x-x-x, where 'x' means any other card that does not form a better hand.

A-2-3-4-5 is considered a five-high straight, and it is called a wheel or bicycle; this is the only time an ace plays as a low card. An ace-high straight flush is called a royal flush and it cannot be beaten. The only time it ties is when all 5 cards to the royal flush, i.e. A♥K♥Q♥J♥10♥, are on the community board. Higher cards always beat lower cards, for example, a pair of aces beats a pair of kings, and a flush with a king beats a flush whose highest card is a Queen. If two players have the same pair, a kicker is used to break the tie if possible (more about them soon). When two players have two pair, the highest pairs are considered, for example, aces up always beats kings up, no matter the other pairs. If, for example, two players both have aces up, then the higher of the smaller pairs wins: aces over kings beats aces over queens. If, for example, both players have aces over kings, then the kicker card is considered. Kickers also come into play when more than one player has the same three or four of a kind (possible only in community card games or wildcard games). If players have the same straight, flush, full house, or straight flush, it is always a tie and the players split the pot. There is no suit superiority or trump suit; a spade flush with A-10-9-6-4 does not beat a club flush with the same values.

A kicker is any card that you hold in your hand that does not make part of it, that is, an otherwise useless card. A hand can have more than one kicker; A pair for instance has three kickers and a three-of-a-kind has two, and they are considered in rank order highest-first. When two players hold the same pair, two pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind, the highest kicker wins, for example, A-A-K-x-x beats A-A-Q-x-x, A-A-K-Q-x beats A-A-K-J-x, and A-A-K-Q-J beats A-A-K-Q-T. A kicker can be higher than the rest of the hand, for example, K-K-A-x-x beats K-K-J-x-x, so an ace usually makes the best kicker. If the first kicker ties and there is a second or third, they are compared in rank order; A-A-K-J-x loses to A-A-K-Q-x. If the hands are totally equivalent, the pot is split.

Low hands[edit]

Some games have a high-low split, and some games such as lowball or razz are played low-only. In a high-low split game, typically a low hand must not have any cards ranked higher than eight and no cards must be paired, or it does not count as a low hand. In low-only games, any cards can be used. Many forms of poker do not use low hands, so you need not concern yourself with these until you intend to play games that do.

There are three common ways of ranking low hands, ace-to-five low, ace-to-six low, and deuce-to-seven low, named after the best possible hands in the respective systems. In all systems, paired cards are bad and cannot be used to beat any hand that does not have a pair. Likewise, a pair beats three of a kind, three of a kind beats a full house, and a full house beats four of a kind. The most common hand ranking system for low hands is ace-to-five, used almost universally in high-low split games and very common in other games. This means A-2-3-4-5 (called a wheel or bicycle, just as it is as a high hand) is the best possible low hand, and the ace is the lowest card. For a high-low split game, it also forms a high hand: a five-high straight. In order to avoid confusion, we will discuss only ace-to-five low at the moment.

When pairs and any other 'bad' hands are not present, then the winner is the one whose highest card is lowest. For this reason, a low hand is usually described highest card first, to make it easier to tell which is lower. In ace-to-five, 8-4-3-2-A loses to 7-6-5-4-3 because the highest card in the first hand (eight) is higher than the highest card in the second hand (seven), even though all the other cards in the second hand are lower. If the highest cards are the same, then the next-highest cards are considered, and so on: 8-7-6-3-A loses to 8-7-5-4-2 because the second hand goes lower first.

In ace-to-six low, straights and flushes count for high (that is, they're bad), and the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-6 unsuited, since it's the lowest possible card combination that avoids pairing, straights, and flushes. Deuce-to-seven is identical except the ace is the highest card, so the best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 unsuited. Therefore, in deuce-to-seven low, the hand that would make the worst possible high hand in traditional poker is the best possible low hand, and vice versa: a royal flush is the worst possible hand.