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Card game glossary

157 terms · Updated October 2026

Card games have their own vocabulary, and most of it is never explained — people assume you grew up with it. Every term below is used somewhere on this site. Look for it marked like this, and you can check the definition without leaving the page.

Two words are used in a special sense throughout: a round is one card from every player, with the best card taking them all (card players say trick), and a deal is everything played with one dealing of the cards.

Aerial

Any move where cards are thrown into the air and caught.

Wikipedia describes aerials as moves where cards, or parts of the deck, keep moving in the same direction and are typically caught by the other hand. Throwing a card across a room is a different thing; see Card throwing.

Air-cushion finish

An embossed surface that traps air between cards so they slide and fan cleanly.

An embossed texture pressed into the card surface, trapping a thin layer of air between cards so they separate easily. It is what lets cards spread in a smooth fan and spring from hand to hand. Linoid is a similar finish under a different brand name; a smooth glossy finish looks expensive and clumps.

See also: Cardistry

Around

In Pinochle, an ace, king, queen or jack of every suit shown together for points: aces around is worth 100.

In Pinochle, four cards of one rank, one of each suit, score points when you show them before the rounds: aces around 100, kings around 80, queens around 60 and jacks around 40. All eight cards of a rank (both of every suit) score ten times as much. Tens around and nines around score nothing. Card players say 100 aces, 80 kings, 60 queens and 40 jacks. A king and a queen of every suit is called a roundhouse, and is worth 240 when the marriages are counted too.

Assisting

In Euchre, the dealer's partner choosing the face-up card's suit as the strongest suit.

In Euchre’s first go-around of choosing (each player in turn, starting left of the dealer, either accepts the face-up card’s suit as the strongest suit or passes), if the dealer’s partner is the one who accepts it, that is called assisting rather than ordering up. In the United States the effect is the same either way (in Britain, Canada and Australia a dealer’s partner who orders it up must go alone): the dealer picks up the face-up card and throws one card away, and the face-up card’s suit becomes the strongest suit (card players call it trump).

See also: Order up, Upcard, Makers, Trump

Auction

The round of offers before play in Bridge, in which the players take turns bidding until the highest bid becomes the contract.

In Bridge, before any card is played, the players take turns, starting with the dealer, saying pass or making a bid: a number from 1 to 7 and a suit, or no strongest suit. Each bid must be higher than the one before. The auction ends when three players in a row pass after a bid, and the last bid is the contract. If all four players pass at the start, the deal is passed out and nobody scores. Minibridge has no auction: the card points decide who plays.

See also: Bid (Bridge), Contract, Minibridge

Bag

A round your team won beyond what it promised — worth one point now, but every tenth one costs 100 points.

In Spades, each player says before play how many rounds their own cards will win (card players call this a bid), and the team’s promise is the two numbers added together. A bag is a round the team wins beyond that promise. Each is worth a single point, which sounds harmless, but every tenth bag costs the team 100 points. Bags are why promising an accurate number matters more than winning as many rounds as you can.

Bid

A promise made before play about how much you will win — in Spades, how many rounds. In Euchre, choosing the strongest suit is also called bidding. This site calls a Spades bid a guess.

In Spades, a bid is the number of rounds a player promises their own cards will win. Teammates add their two bids into one team total (the contract), and the team scores if it wins at least that many rounds between them. In Bid Whist, a bid is an offer to win a number of rounds beyond the first six, and the highest bid then names the strongest suit. This site says “guess” for a Spades bid.

Biddle grip

A way of holding the deck from above by its two short ends, thumb on one end and fingers on the other.

A cardistry grip: the deck is held from above by its two short ends, with the thumb on the end nearest you and the first three fingers on the far end. The swing cut and the spring start from it.

See also: Dealer’s grip, Straddle grip

Bid (Bridge)

An offer in the Bridge auction: a number from 1 to 7 and a suit, or no strongest suit, promising that many rounds beyond the first six.

A Bridge bid says: my side will win this many rounds more than six, with this suit as the strongest suit. A bid of one spade promises 7 rounds, four hearts promises 10, and seven with no strongest suit promises all 13. A bid must beat the one before it: a higher number, or the same number with a higher suit. From lowest to highest the order is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, and then no strongest suit. Spades has a different kind of bid, a guess about your own rounds: see Bid.

Black three

In Canasta, a 3♠ or 3♣. It cannot go in a group, and a black three on top of the discard pile stops the next player from taking the pile.

In Canasta the black threes (3♠ and 3♣) cannot be put in groups, with one exception: a player who is going out may put down three or four of them as a last group. Discarding one is a way to block the pile, because nobody can take the discard pile while a black three is on top. It does not freeze the pile, so once another card covers it the pile can be taken again. Card players call a black three a stop card. One left in a hand counts 5 points against the team.

See also: Red three, Wild card, Frozen pile

Book

The first six rounds a side wins in Whist — they score nothing on their own.

In Whist, the first six rounds your side wins are called the book and score nothing at all. Only rounds beyond six, called odd tricks, are worth anything, which is why a side can win most of the rounds in a deal and still score only one or two points.

Book (Go Fish)

In Go Fish, all four cards of one rank, put down face up as soon as a player holds them. The player with the most books wins.

In Go Fish, a book is all four cards of one rank, such as the four kings. A player puts a book down face up as soon as the fourth card arrives, whether it came from another player or from the draw pile, and those cards are out of the game. When all 13 books have been made, the player with the most books wins. Card players also call four of a kind a “quartet”. (In Whist, the word book means something else: see Book.)

Bower

In Euchre, the two jacks that become the strongest cards in the deal — the right and the left bower.

Euchre's signature rule. When a suit becomes the strongest suit (card players call it trump), the jack of that suit becomes the highest card in the game (the right bower), and the jack of the other suit of the same color becomes the second highest (the left bower). The left bower stops being a member of its printed suit entirely — if hearts are the strongest suit, the jack of diamonds counts as a heart.

Break in

Handling a new deck until it is less stiff and slippery. A broken-in deck is one that has had this done.

A new deck is stiff and slick, so cardists flex it with riffle shuffles, fans and springs, turning it end for end and upside down so it bends evenly in both directions. Guides disagree on the exact routine and the time, and some decks work well straight from the box. A deck that is worn out for good is called a dead deck: its cards stick together in clumps.

Brick (cardistry)

A bundle of 12 decks bought at once.

Cardists say a brick for 12 decks sold together.

Bridge (cardistry)

The arch the two halves are bent into after a riffle shuffle so they can cascade together.

This is the shuffling bridge, not the card game. After the halves are riffled together, they are bent into an arch and released, and the cards fall together. For the card game, see Bid (Bridge) and Game (Bridge).

Broken (hearts, spades)

A suit is “broken” once a card of that suit has been played in the deal — from then on a round may start with it. In Hearts, only hearts can be broken; in Spades, only spades.

In Hearts, until a heart has been put down in the deal, nobody may start a round with a heart unless hearts are all they have left. Once one has been played, hearts are broken and anyone may start a round with one. Spades work the same way in the standard Spades rules. The word only matters for starting a round: playing a card of the starting suit is never affected.

Canasta

A group of seven or more cards of one rank in the game of Canasta, worth a bonus of 500 points (no wild cards) or 300 points (with wild cards).

Canasta is Spanish for basket, and it is the name of the game and of its biggest prize. In the game, a canasta is a group of seven or more cards of the same rank. One with no wild cards is a natural canasta and earns a bonus of 500 points; one with one to three wild cards is a mixed canasta and earns 300. A team needs a canasta before one of its players may go out. Card players call a natural canasta a red canasta and a mixed one a black canasta.

See also: Group, Wild card, Natural card, Going out

Card stock

The paper a deck is made from. Soft, thin “crushed” stock is flexible and popular for cardistry.

Thicker or thinner, softer or stiffer paper changes how a deck feels. Thin, soft crushed stock makes springs easy and is popular with cardists, but it is more slippery and wears out faster. (In some games “stock” means the draw pile; that is a different word, covered under Stock.)

Card clip

A clip that holds a deck flat.

Cardists use one to keep a deck from bending.

Card points (high-card points)

The count of a hand in Bridge: ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1. A deck holds 40, and an average hand holds 10.

Card players call these high-card points, or HCP. Each player counts their own hand, and partners add theirs together to guess how many rounds they can win. A rough guide: about 25 or 26 between partners for a game in hearts, spades or with no strongest suit, 33 for a small slam and 37 for a grand slam. Card points are not the score. They are only used to judge a hand, and a hand with a long suit can be worth more than its card points show.

See also: Minibridge, Game (Bridge), Contract

Card throwing

Throwing a playing card through the air; a hobby of its own, related to cardistry.

It is a different hobby from cardistry, though like an aerial it sends cards out of the hand. A thrown card can hurt someone, so practice in open space away from people and pets, and never throw toward anyone’s face. This site does not teach technique.

Cardist

A person who practices cardistry.

Wikipedia says practitioners of cardistry are colloquially known as cardists.

See also: Cardistry

Cardistry

Flourishing and juggling cards for display — no tricks, nothing hidden.

The art (say KAR-dis-tree; people who do it are called cardists) of manipulating cards purely for how it looks: fans, spreads, cuts and aerials (cards thrown into the air and caught). Unlike card magic there is nothing concealed and no trick to figure out — the display is the point. It asks different things of a deck than either magic or play does.

Cardistry deck

A deck made just for cardistry.

Nice to have and not needed to start; an ordinary poker-size deck is enough while learning.

Cardistry-Con

The first convention dedicated to cardistry, organized by Dan and Dave Buck in 2014.

Wikipedia describes it as an interactive conference centered on the art of cardistry, where cardists from all over the world can gather.

See also: Cardistry

Charlier cut

The classic one-handed cut: the bottom half of the deck is pushed up and over the top half, all in one hand.

The deck is split into two parts with the thumb, the bottom part is pushed up past the top part with a finger, and the thumb lets the halves swap so the deck is squared again, all in one hand. Many other cardistry moves start from it. It is said to be a 19th-century flourish.

Clean book / Dirty book

In Hand and Foot, a group of seven cards of one rank: clean if it has no wild card (a 500-point bonus), dirty if it has one or more (300).

In Hand and Foot a group is three to seven cards of the same rank, and a group of seven is a book and is finished. A clean book has seven natural cards (4 to ace) and no wild card, and earns a bonus of 500 points. A dirty book has one or more wild cards (2s and jokers) in it, and earns 300. To go out, a player needs at least one of each. Card players call a clean book a red book and a dirty book a black book.

Clumping

Cards sticking together so two or more move as one.

It is a sign of a deck that is worn out.

Concealed (going out)

Going out in one turn: putting down your whole hand, including a canasta, with nothing put down before. It earns 100 extra points in Canasta.

In Canasta, a player goes out concealed when they put down their whole hand in a single turn (all but a last discard), including at least one canasta, without having put down any cards earlier in the deal and without adding to their partner’s groups. It earns an extra 100 points on top of the 100 for going out. If the player drew from the draw pile, their team needs no minimum for its first groups. This site says going out in one turn.

See also: Going out, Canasta, Initial meld

Counter

An ace, 10 or king: the cards worth 10 points each in the rounds of Pinochle. This site calls them scoring cards.

In Pinochle, the aces, 10s and kings are worth 10 points each to the team that wins them in the rounds, and the team that wins the last round gets 10 more. With two of each, that makes 24 scoring cards and 250 points in a deal. The queens, jacks and 9s are worth nothing. This site says scoring cards; card players say counters.

Contract

The promise a side makes in Bridge: the strongest suit (or none) and how many rounds it will win.

In Bridge the last bid of the auction is the contract: for example four spades, which promises 10 rounds with spades as the strongest suit. In Minibridge the declarer names the contract after seeing both hands. The declaring side scores only if it wins at least that many rounds. If it does not, the other side scores instead. In Minibridge a part-score contract promises 7 rounds, and a game contract promises 9 with no strongest suit, 10 with hearts or spades, and 11 with clubs or diamonds.

See also: Declarer, Part-score, Game (Bridge)

Crib

An extra set of four cards made from cards both players put aside, which belongs to the dealer and is counted last.

Before play begins in Cribbage, both players put two cards face down into a shared pile of four. It belongs to the dealer, who counts it as an extra hand at the end (Cribbage players say “counting”: you add up the points the cards make under Cribbage’s rules) — a real advantage, which is why the dealer changes every time.

Cut (cardistry)

A showy way of splitting the deck into two or more parts and putting them back together or rearranging them.

In cardistry a cut is a flourish, not the plain cut of the deck before a deal. A one-handed cut (OH) uses one hand and a two-handed cut uses both. The swing cut, Charlier cut and Sybil cut are all cuts.

See also: Charlier cut, Swing cut, Sybil cut

Dead deck

A deck that is worn out.

Its cards stick together in clumps and no longer handle well. Cardists also say worn-in deck for one that looks tatty but feels good.

Deadwood

Another name for leftover points: the points on the cards in your hand that are not in any group.

The cards in your hand that are not in any group, and the total of points they add up to. This site calls the cards leftover cards and the total leftover points. Face cards count ten, aces count one, everything else counts its face value. Getting your leftover points low enough to knock is the whole game in Gin Rummy. Card players say deadwood.

See also: Meld, Knock, Undercut, Leftover points

Deal

Everything played with one dealing of the cards, from the first card until the play ends.

One deal begins when the cards are shuffled and handed out, and ends when the play is finished. A whole game is usually several deals, with the scores added up until someone reaches a target. Many players call one deal a hand. This site says deal, so that hand can always mean the cards you are holding.

Dealer’s grip

A way of holding the deck resting in your palm, thumb along one long edge and fingers along the other.

A cardistry grip, also called the mechanic’s grip: the deck rests in the palm, the thumb lies along one long edge, the index finger is at the front short edge and the other three fingers are along the other long edge.

Deck-building

A game where you start with a weak deck and buy better cards into it as you play.

A style of game where your deck is not fixed. You begin with a small, weak set of cards and spend the coins or other buying power those cards give you on stronger ones, which are shuffled into your own deck and come round again. The deck you finish with is one you assembled during the game. It is not the same as building a deck before play, as in a trading card game.

Declarer

The player who won the auction. In Bridge, the player who plays both their own cards and their partner’s (the dummy). In Pinochle, the player who names the strongest suit, swaps four cards with a partner and starts the first round.

In Bridge, the player on the side that won the auction who first named the contract’s suit (or no strongest suit). Their partner lays their cards face up as the dummy, and the declarer plays both hands. In Pinochle, the player who made the highest bid. That player names the strongest suit, swaps four cards with a partner, and plays the first card of the deal. The declarer's team must score at least the number it bid, or it loses that many points (card players call that going set).

See also: Bid, Going set, Racehorse, Trump

Display (cardistry)

A still picture made with cards, such as several parts of the deck shown at once.

A display is a pose rather than a motion. The Five Faces of Sybil, for example, ends in a display of five parts.

Dix

In Pinochle, the nine of the strongest suit, worth 10 points each when shown. Said “deece”.

Said “deece”. In Pinochle, each nine of the strongest suit scores 10 points when you show it before the rounds, on top of any other combination it is part of. Apart from that it is the lowest card in the deal. This site says “the nine of the strongest suit”.

Defender

In Bridge, one of the two players on the side that is not playing the contract; they try to win enough rounds to beat it.

The defenders play only their own cards and cannot see each other’s hands. One of them makes the opening lead. A contract that promises 10 rounds is beaten when the defenders win 4, and in general the defenders need 14 less the number of rounds promised. Defending is half of every deal, since each side defends as often as it declares.

See also: Declarer, Opening lead, Contract

Double-sleeving

Putting a card in a close-fitting inner sleeve, then a normal outer one.

Two sleeves per card: a close-fitting inner sleeve, then a standard outer one, often loaded from opposite ends so the card is sealed against dust and humidity from both directions. (A sleeve is a thin clear plastic cover for one card.) It is the standard treatment for expensive cards that still get played.

Dribble

Cards dropping one by one in a steady stream from one hand to the other.

The waterfall is a related move.

Dummy

In Bridge, the declarer’s partner, who lays their hand face up and takes no further part: the declarer plays those cards.

After the opening lead (in Minibridge, before it), the dummy puts all 13 cards face up on the table for everyone to see. The declarer chooses which dummy card to play on each round, and the dummy may not give advice or comment. Everyone can see the dummy, including the defenders, who use it to plan their play.

Duplicate bridge

A form of Bridge in which every deal is played at several tables, and each side is scored by comparing its result with the others who held the same cards.

In duplicate Bridge each deal stays in a tray, called a board, and is played at every table with the same cards. The luck of the cards is therefore the same for everyone, and the result shows who played them best. It is the form played in clubs and tournaments. Each made contract scores its points for the rounds plus a bonus on the spot: 50 for a part-score, 300 for a game when not vulnerable, 500 when vulnerable.

See also: Rubber, Vulnerable, Game (Bridge)

Euchred

Failing to win three of the five rounds after choosing the strongest suit — the other team scores two points.

What happens to the side that chose the strongest suit (the makers) if they win fewer than three of the five rounds. The other side scores two points instead of the makers scoring anything, which is why choosing it on a weak hand is expensive.

Fan

Cards spread out in a half-circle, in one hand or both, so part of every card shows.

A fan is a basic cardistry display. A thumb fan is made by sweeping your thumb across the deck so it spreads around one corner. A pressure fan is a wider fan made from a deck that has been bent under pressure.

Five Faces of Sybil

A more advanced two-handed cut that ends with a display of the deck in five parts.

It was published in Chris Kenner’s 1992 book Totally Out of Control. Many histories treat the Sybil cut as the move that kicked off modern cardistry.

Flourish

One show-off move or display with cards, such as a fan, a cut, a spring or a spread.

Magicians used the word first, for the skillful handling that introduced a trick. Cardists now use it for any move done for its looks. Older names for the same thing are card manipulation, card stunts and extreme card manipulation (XCM).

Fanning powder

A fine powder some cardists use on a sluggish deck.

It is not needed to start, and it is a matter of taste.

Faro shuffle

A shuffle in which two halves of the deck are interleaved one card at a time.

Wikipedia describes it as holding half of the deck in each hand with the thumbs inward and releasing the cards so they fall interleaved. In an out-shuffle the top and bottom cards stay in place; in an in-shuffle they move to second place from each end.

Finesse

In Bridge, a play that works only if a missing higher card is in the right hand, such as playing the queen when you hold the ace and queen and the king is missing.

A finesse is a chance. With the ace and queen of a suit and the king missing, you lead the suit toward your hand and play the queen when the player in front of you does not play the king. If the king is behind you, the queen loses to it, but you still have the ace. Teachers advise taking such a chance when you are short of rounds, and leaving it when you already have enough.

Flow (cardistry)

Linking moves together smoothly.

Cardists say a run of moves has flow when each move leads into the next without a stop.

Follow suit

Play a card of the same suit as the first card of the round, if you have one.

The rule that makes round-by-round games work. Whatever suit the first card was, you must play a card of that suit if you have one. Only when you have none of it may you play anything else, including a card of the strongest suit. Playing a different suit when you could have followed is a renege (or revoke) — see that entry for what it costs.

See also: Trick, Trump, Void, Renege / Revoke

Foot

In Hand and Foot, the second pile of cards each player is dealt, kept face down until the first pile is used up.

In Hand and Foot every player is dealt two piles of 11 cards. The first is the hand, which the player holds and plays from. The second is the foot, which stays face down on the table. As soon as the hand is used up, the player picks up the foot and plays from it. A player cannot go out until the foot has been played, and cards still left in an unplayed foot count against the player when the deal ends.

Foundation

In Solitaire, one of the four piles built up by suit from the ace to the king. This site calls them the home piles.

The foundations are the four piles, one for each suit, that you build up in order from the ace to the king in Solitaire and other one-player card games. When all four are complete, you have won. Card players say foundation. This site says home pile, because that is where every card is heading.

See also: Tableau, Solitaire (Klondike), Waste

Frozen pile

In Canasta, a discard pile that can be taken only with two natural cards from your hand that match its top card. A wild card in the pile freezes it.

In Canasta the discard pile is frozen when it has a wild card in it, or a red three that was turned up to start it. It is also frozen against a team that has not yet put down its first groups. A frozen pile can be taken only by a player who holds two natural cards of the same rank as the top card: wild cards do not count, and a group already on the table is not enough. A pile stays frozen until someone takes it. A black three does not freeze it.

Gaff card

A specially printed trick card, such as one with two faces or two backs.

A purpose-made card that is not what it appears: two faces, two backs, a blank, or a card trimmed short (a "short card"). Gaffs are made to match standard decks, which is why most card magic is performed with an ordinary-looking deck — the gaff has to be indistinguishable from the rest.

Game (Bridge)

In Bridge, a contract worth 100 points or more, such as four hearts or three with no strongest suit. It scores a large bonus when made.

In rubber Bridge, a side that reaches 100 points below the line has won a game, and the first side to win two games wins the rubber. A single contract can make a game: four hearts, four spades, five clubs, five diamonds, or three with no strongest suit. In Minibridge a game is a promise of 9 rounds with no strongest suit, 10 with hearts or spades, or 11 with clubs or diamonds, and a made game scores a bonus of 300 against 50 for a part-score. In Bridge, game names a size of contract. It does not mean the whole game played to a winning score.

Gin

In Gin Rummy, ending the deal with every card in a group and no leftover points — worth a 25-point bonus.

Going gin means ending the deal with every one of your cards in a group, so your leftover points are zero. You score all of the other player’s leftover points plus a 25-point bonus. The other player may not add cards to your groups, and a gin hand cannot be undercut. Ending the deal with 10 or fewer leftover points (but more than zero) is just a knock.

See also: Knock, Undercut, Leftover points

Go

Saying you cannot play another card without going over 31, so your opponent must keep playing instead.

Called during the card-playing part of Cribbage when adding any card from your hand would take the running total (the cards played so far, each worth its number, with face cards worth 10 and aces 1) over 31. Your opponent then keeps playing whatever they legally can, and whoever played last scores a point for the go (two if their card made exactly 31). Saying go while you actually hold a playable card is a renege.

Go fish

What a player says when asked for a rank they have none of. The asker then draws the top card of the draw pile. It is also the name of the game.

In the game of Go Fish you ask another player for every card of a rank you hold. A player who has none says “Go fish!”, and you draw the top card of the draw pile. In the version this site teaches, a card of the rank you asked for is shown and earns you another turn, and any other card ends your turn. When the draw pile is empty there is nothing to draw, so the turn simply passes. Card players call a player who has been told to go fish “fishing”.

Going alone

Playing a deal without your partner, for a bigger score if you win all five rounds.

A player who chooses the strongest suit may decide to play alone: their partner puts their cards face down and sits the deal out, and the lone player plays against both opponents by themselves. It pays off only if they win all five rounds — a lone march is worth four points instead of two — and costs nothing extra if they fail.

Going out

Getting rid of your very last card, which ends the deal immediately.

The way a deal of Rummy 500 normally ends: a player uses up their last card, whether by putting it in a group, adding it to a group on the table, or simply discarding it, and play stops right there for everyone else. Gin Rummy has no going out: a player ends the deal early by knocking while still holding up to ten points of cards that are not in a group (see Knock).

Going set

In Pinochle, falling short of the bid: the team that won the auction scores nothing for the deal and loses the points it bid.

The team that wins the auction promises to score at least its bid. If its combinations and the points it wins in the rounds add up to less, it is set: it scores nothing for the deal, and the amount of the bid is taken off its game score, which can then drop below zero. The other team still scores. Spades uses the same word for a team that fails to keep its promise.

Group

Three or four cards of the same rank, or three or more in rank order in one suit (such as the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts).

The plain word this site uses for what card players call a meld. In Gin Rummy, cards in groups are safe: the cards outside your groups are added up as leftover points, and the lower total wins the deal. In Rummy 500, a group scores points once you put it on the table, and every card still in your hand when the deal ends counts against you. (Cribbage uses the word in another way: there it means any cards that add up to 15.)

Hand

The cards a player is holding. Many card players also use it for a whole deal; this site says deal for that.

A hand is the cards one player is holding right now. Many card players also say “a hand” for everything played with one dealing of the cards, as in “we played three hands of Hearts”. This site says deal for that, so hand always means the cards you hold.

His heels

Two points the dealer scores right away if the starter card turns out to be a jack.

If the card cut and turned up as the starter is a jack, the dealer scores two points right away, before the card-playing part even begins. Holding the jack of the starter's suit in your own hand is a different bonus, called nobs, and is worth only one point.

Honors

The ace, king, queen and jack of the strongest suit in Whist, worth bonus points if one side holds them.

Under the traditional Whist rule, a side holding all four honors (the A, K, Q and J of the strongest suit) between them scores 4 points; holding three scores 2. Rounds are always counted before honors, so a side that reaches the target on rounds wins the game even if the other side holds every honor. Many players drop honors entirely, since they reward lucky cards rather than good play.

Initial meld

In Canasta, the first groups a team puts down in a deal, which must be worth a minimum number of points. This site calls them the first groups.

The first time a team puts cards on the table in a deal of Canasta, the groups it puts down together must reach a minimum count: 15 points if the team’s total is below 0, 50 from 0 to 1,495, 90 from 1,500 to 2,995, and 120 from 3,000. Only the points on the cards count, not bonuses. After either partner has done it, both may put down any group. Until then the discard pile is frozen against the team. This site says the first groups; card players say initial meld.

Isolation

A move in which one card, or a few, seems to float while the others move around it.

Wikipedia says isolations are mostly done with a small number of cards, around a fixed center.

Jumbo index

Corner rank and suit printed about twice the usual size, so a card reads from across the table.

Cards whose two corner indices (the rank and suit printed in a corner) are printed about twice the usual size, so a hand can be read from across a table with only a corner lifted. A standard-index deck has the same two corners, just smaller — the difference is size, not how many. Almost every poker set should be jumbo index; standard index suits games where you hold a fan close, like bridge or rummy, because more of the card face stays visible. A separate layout with the rank and suit in all four corners exists, sold mainly for bridge; it is not what poker players mean by jumbo.

Knacky

A move that is hard to learn and takes a lot of practice.

A cardists’ word for a move that is tricky or fiddly.

Knock

A choice you may make once your leftover points are ten or fewer: you end the deal and both hands are compared.

Ending the deal deliberately. Once your leftover points are down to ten or fewer you may knock, lay out your groups, and compare what is left against your opponent. If your total is lower you score the difference; if your opponent’s is the same or lower they score instead (an undercut). Knocking sooner is safer than holding out for a perfect hand, because the longer you wait the more likely your opponent is to knock first. Knocking with 7 to 10 leftover points is a gamble until the draw pile is running low.

See also: Leftover points, Group, Gin, Undercut

Lay off

Adding a card from your hand onto a group already on the table, instead of making a new group.

In Gin Rummy, only the player who did not knock may do this: adding spare cards to the groups the knocker laid down, which stops those cards counting against them. It is not allowed at all if the knocker has every card in a group (card players call that going gin). In Rummy 500, any player may add to any group on the table, on any turn, and an added card scores points for the player who added it.

Lead / Led

To play the first card of a round. In Cribbage, to lead is to go first when the total is zero. In games where you must follow suit, the first card also sets the suit the others must play if they can. This site says “start a round”.

To lead is to play the first card of a round. The card that was led sets the starting suit: every other player must play a card of that suit if they have one. The winner of a round leads the next one. Cribbage has no rounds like this: there, to lead is to go first when the total is zero, at the start of the card-playing part and again after a go or a 31. Card players say “lead” and “led”; this site says “start a round” and “the starting card”.

Leftover points

The points for the cards in your hand that are not in any group, counted against you.

The plain phrase this site uses for what card players call deadwood. In Gin Rummy an ace is worth 1, a jack, queen or king is worth 10, and every other card is worth its number. The fewer leftover points you have, the better.

Makers

The team that chooses the strongest suit, and so must win at least three of the five rounds.

Whoever picks the strongest suit — by ordering up the face-up card, or by naming a different suit in the second go-around (after everyone has passed once) — takes on the job of winning at least three of the five rounds. Succeeding scores a point or two; falling short gets the side euchred.

See also: Order up, Euchred, Trump, Round

March

Winning all five rounds in a deal of Euchre, worth two points instead of one.

Winning every one of the five rounds in a deal. A march by the full team scores two points instead of one; a march by a player going alone scores four.

Marriage

A king and queen of the same suit, shown together for points: 20 in most suits, 40 in the strongest suit.

In Pinochle, a king and a queen of the same suit score 20 points when you show them before the rounds, or 40 in the strongest suit. A second marriage in the same suit scores again. The king and queen inside a run do not also make a marriage. Card players call the 40-point one a royal marriage and the 20-point one a common marriage. The word is also used in other games that reward a king and queen together.

Mechanic’s grip

A hold with the deck resting in the center of the palm.

Wikipedia describes the mechanic’s grip as a grip where the deck is placed in the center of the palm of the hand you choose.

Meld

In rummy games, another name for a group: three or four cards of one rank, or three or more in rank order in one suit. In Pinochle, a scoring combination shown before play, such as a marriage.

A group of cards that go together. There are two kinds: a set (three or four cards of the same rank) and a run (three or more cards in order, all in one suit, such as the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts). In rummy games the whole point is arranging your hand into groups, because the cards left outside them count against you. This site says “group”; card players say meld.

Minibridge

A simple form of Bridge with no auction: the side with more card points plays, and the declarer chooses the contract after seeing both hands.

Minibridge is how many people are taught Bridge. Everyone counts card points. The side with more points plays the deal, and on that side the player with more points is the declarer. The dummy lays down their hand, and the declarer names the strongest suit (or none) and a goal, a part-score of 7 rounds or a game. The play is the same as in Bridge. The English Bridge Union publishes the rules that our practice game follows, and the American Contract Bridge League’s school lessons use the same ones.

Misdeal

A deal that is thrown in and dealt again because of a mistake in dealing, such as a card turned face up.

A misdeal happens when the cards were dealt wrongly: a card was turned face up, a player received too many or too few cards, or the deck was not shuffled. In most games nobody is penalized and the same dealer shuffles and deals again. In Whist, uneven hands lose the deal (the next player on the left deals), while a card shown by accident only gives the other team the choice of a new deal. Some tables pass the deal to the next player instead; agree which before you start.

Muggins

An optional rule letting you claim any points your opponent missed when counting their own hand.

Not part of the standard Cribbage game. Under muggins, if your opponent finishes counting their hand or crib and has missed some points, you may claim those points for yourself by calling it before the next card is cut. Most casual tables skip it; it rewards careful counting over a friendly game.

Natural card

In Canasta, any card from 4 up to ace, as opposed to a wild card (a 2 or a joker) or a three.

Natural cards are the ones a Canasta group is built from: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace. A group needs at least two of them. The twelve wild cards (the 2s and the jokers) can stand in for them, and the threes have their own rules.

Nil

A promise to win no rounds at all — big bonus if you make it, big penalty if you do not.

A guess in Spades promising to win no rounds whatsoever. Making it is worth a large bonus and failing it costs the same amount. Your teammate still guesses normally and spends the deal trying to cover you by winning the rounds that would otherwise fall to you.

Nineteen

The nickname for a Cribbage hand that scores zero — nineteen is a total no hand can ever actually reach.

A cribbage hand can score plenty of totals, but nineteen is not one of them — no combination of fifteens, pairs, runs, flush and nobs adds up to exactly 19 (the totals 25, 26 and 27 are impossible too). Players borrowed the impossible number as a joke name for a hand that scores nothing at all, so calling your hand "a nineteen" means it counted for zero.

No-trump

A Bridge contract with no strongest suit: only the highest card of the suit that was played first can win. This site says no strongest suit.

Card players write it NT, so three no-trump, or 3NT, promises 9 rounds with no strongest suit. With no strongest suit the highest card of the suit that was played first always wins, and a player with none of that suit can only throw away a card. It scores 40 for the first round beyond six and 30 for each after that, a little more than hearts or spades.

Nobs

One point for holding the jack that matches the starter's suit.

Scored when the hands are counted, not during the card play. If your Cribbage hand contains the jack of the same suit as the starter card, you score one point for it, nicknamed nobs. A jack turned up as the starter is a different bonus, called his heels.

Odd trick

Any round beyond the first six (the book) in Whist — each is worth one point.

Whist scores by counting rounds past the book. A side's seventh round is its first odd trick, worth a point, and each one after it is worth another. Winning all thirteen rounds is a slam, worth the maximum seven odd tricks.

Old Maid

The queen left without a partner in the game of Old Maid. Whoever is left holding it loses.

Old Maid is a game for two or more players. One queen is taken out of the deck, so three queens are left. Everyone puts down their pairs, and players take turns taking a card, without looking, from each other’s hands. Two of the three queens can make a pair, but the third cannot, so one queen is always left over. That queen is the Old Maid, and the player left holding it when everyone else has run out of cards loses. The name is also the name of the game. In some countries a similar game is played with a jack as the odd card (Black Peter in Germany), and sets made for the game have one special Old Maid card instead of a queen.

One-handed cut (OH)

A cut done with one hand.

Cardists write it OH. The Charlier cut is an example. See Cut for what a cut means in cardistry.

Opening lead

In Bridge, the first card of the deal, played by the defender on the declarer’s left.

The opening lead is the first card played in a deal, and its suit is the starting suit for the first round. In Bridge the dummy is laid down after it. In Minibridge the dummy is already face up, so the defender can see it. A common choice is the top card of two or three high cards in a row, or else the fourth-highest card of the longest suit.

Order up

In Euchre, telling the table you want the face-up card’s suit to be the strongest suit.

In Euchre, to order up (or “order it up”) is to accept the face-up card’s suit as the strongest suit for the deal. The dealer then picks up that card and throws away one card from their hand. If you do not want that suit, you pass and the choice moves to the next player. Ordering it up means your team must win at least three of the five rounds, or the other team scores two points.

Packet (cardistry)

A part of the deck held apart from the rest.

The plain way to say it is “part of the deck.” Cardists use “packet” for a portion held apart, as when a cut splits the deck into packets.

Pair

Two cards of the same rank, such as two 7s or two kings. The suits do not matter.

Two cards with the same number or letter, whatever their suits: the 7 of hearts and the 7 of spades are a pair, and a king and a queen are not. In Old Maid, players put down every pair they hold, face up. With three cards of one rank, two make a pair and one stays in the hand; with four, there are two pairs. Cribbage uses the word in the same way: it scores 2 points for each pair. Some groups playing Old Maid also require the two cards to be the same color.

Pair royal

In Cribbage, three of the same rank played or held together, worth 6 points — four of a rank (a double pair royal) is worth 12.

A pair is two cards of the same rank; a pair royal is three, worth 6 points instead of 2, because it contains three separate pairs. A double pair royal is all four cards of a rank, worth 12, for the same reason: six pairs hiding inside it.

Patience

The British name for Solitaire, and for the whole family of card games for one player.

In Britain and several other countries, a card game for one player is called Patience, and Klondike, the game Americans simply call Solitaire, is often just called Patience as well. In the United States, card games for one player are called solitaires. Elsewhere, Klondike is sometimes called American Patience.

Part-score

In Bridge, a contract that does not reach game. In Minibridge, a promise to win 7 rounds.

A part-score earns the points for the rounds won beyond six, plus a small bonus of 50 in Minibridge and in duplicate Bridge. In rubber Bridge the points go below the line and count toward the 100 needed for a game, and may be added to by a later deal. About 21 to 24 card points between partners usually make a part-score.

See also: Game (Bridge), Contract, Rubber

Peg / Pegging

In Cribbage, to score by moving a peg forward on the scoring board. “Pegging” is also the name for the card-playing part of a deal.

Cribbage is scored on a board with two pegs per player. To peg is to move your front peg forward by the points you just earned (the back peg then marks your previous score). Players also call the card-playing part of a deal, where the running total counts up to 31, “pegging”, because most of the points scored during it are pegged right away.

Pinochle

The queen of spades with the jack of diamonds, worth 40 points when shown together in the card game Pinochle.

In the card game Pinochle, the queen of spades and the jack of diamonds shown together score 40 points. Holding both queens of spades and both jacks of diamonds is a double pinochle, worth 300. Like the other combinations, it can be shown together with a marriage or an around that uses one of the same cards.

Poker size

The ordinary playing-card size, 2½ by 3½ inches. Bridge size is a little narrower.

Poker-size cards are about 2½ by 3½ inches (63 by 88 mm). Bridge-size cards are 2¼ by 3½ inches. Cardistry tutorials assume poker size, and bridge size limits some moves.

See also: Cardistry

Racehorse

In Pinochle, passing cards between the partners who won the auction: four cards one way and four back.

A way of playing Pinochle in which, after the auction, the winner's partner passes four cards face down to the winner, and the winner passes four back. Some groups pass three, or none. When no cards are passed, the lowest bid is usually lower too.

Rank

The number or letter on a card, apart from its suit. All four sevens are one rank, and all four kings are another.

A card’s rank is its number or letter: ace, 2 through 10, jack, queen or king. Its suit does not change its rank. In Go Fish you ask for cards by rank, and four cards of one rank make a book. In Gin Rummy and Rummy 500, three or four cards of one rank can form a group. Some rule books call the rank the “denomination” of a card.

Redeal

In Solitaire, turning the turned-over pile back over to make a new draw pile, so that you can go through it again.

When the draw pile is used up in Solitaire, you pick up the turned-over pile, turn it over without shuffling it, and use it as the new draw pile. That is a redeal. Some rule books allow as many as you like, and others limit them. This site says turning the pile back over.

Red three

In Canasta, a 3♥ or 3♦. It is a bonus card worth 100 points to your team, put on the table at once and replaced from the draw pile.

Red threes are not played in groups. When a player is dealt or draws one, it goes face up on the table in front of the team, and the player draws another card. Each is worth 100 points to the team, and all four are worth 800. If the team has put down no groups at all when the deal ends, its red threes count against it instead. A red three that is turned up to start the discard pile freezes it.

Renege / Revoke

Playing a card of a different suit when you had a card of the suit that was started — against the rules in every game that works this way. In Cribbage it also means saying “go” while holding a card you could play.

The name (renege in some games, revoke in others) for breaking the must-play-the-same-suit rule: playing a card that is not of the suit of the first card when you were holding one that was. Every game that is played in rounds penalizes it, though the penalty differs from game to game — check the rules page for the game you are playing. In Cribbage the word also covers saying “go” while holding a card you could have played.

Revolution cut

A variation of the Charlier cut in which the lifted part is turned 180 degrees instead of dropped.

It builds on the Charlier cut. After the ring finger pushes the part clear of the top half of the deck, the ring, middle and index fingers rotate that part 180 degrees instead of dropping it. This is Wikipedia’s description.

Ribbon spread

The whole deck spread flat in one line, often followed by turning the cards over in a wave.

A kind of spread, usually done on a table.

Riffle shuffle

Splitting the deck in two and letting the cards from each half fall together, interleaved.

Done in the hands it is a showy move, often finished by bending the deck into an arch (a bridge). Cardists also use it to break in a new deck.

Rotation (cardistry)

The decks a cardist is switching between.

A cardist may keep several decks in use and swap them.

Round

One card from each player, put down in turn; the best card wins all four.

The plain word this site uses for what card players call a trick. Each player puts down one card. The first card sets the suit, and the highest card of that suit wins the round and picks up all four cards. If the game has a strongest suit (called trump) and anyone played one, the highest card of that suit wins instead. In Hearts you try to avoid winning rounds that have hearts or the queen of spades in them; in Whist and Euchre you try to win enough of them.

Run

Three or more cards in a row in one suit, such as the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts.

One of the two kinds of group in rummy games. The cards must be of one suit and follow one another with no gaps: the 4, 5 and 6 of hearts make a run, but the 4, 5 and 7 do not. Whether the ace may come before the 2, after the king, or both is decided game by game. Gin Rummy allows the ace low only. Rummy and Rummy 500 allow it low or high, but never both at once, so king, ace, 2 is not a run. Card players also call a run a sequence.

Scissor cut

A cut that starts in the straddle grip, with the thumb peeling a part off the deck.

The deck starts in the straddle grip. The thumb peels a part off by lifting the bottom edge of the deck, and the part is rotated off the index finger. This is Wikipedia’s description.

Sequence (cardistry)

Moves linked in a set order.

Learning moves one at a time and then linking them in order is how a routine gets built.

Set

Three or four cards of the same rank, each from a different suit, such as three 7s.

One of the two kinds of group in rummy games. The 7 of hearts, 7 of clubs and 7 of diamonds make a set of three, and adding the 7 of spades makes four, which is the most a set can have in a single deck. Some players call a set a book, which is not the same thing as the book in Whist.

Rubber

The form of Bridge played at home: the same four players play deal after deal until one side has won two games.

The side that wins two games first wins the rubber and scores a bonus: 700 if the other side has won no game, 500 if it has won one. If play stops early, a side with one game scores 300, and a side with only a part-score in the unfinished game scores 100. After a rubber, the points above and below the line are added up, and the higher total wins.

Ruff

Playing a card of the strongest suit on a round that began in another suit, which wins the round unless a higher one is played.

A player with no cards in the suit that was started may play any card, and a card of the strongest suit beats every card of the other suits. A ruff in a short suit wins a round that would have been lost, and is one of the main ways a declarer wins more rounds than the points in the hand suggest. Card players also call it trumping.

Shooting the moon

Picking up every heart and the queen of spades in one deal of Hearts — which scores 0 for you and 26 for every other player.

In Hearts you want as few points as possible: each heart counts 1 against you and the queen of spades counts 13, which is 26 points in all. Shooting the moon means picking up every one of those cards in a single deal. Do that and you score 0 while every other player scores 26. It is risky: if you miss even one, you keep all the points you picked up. To stop someone who seems to be picking up everything, you must pick up a pile with a heart or the queen of spades in it; winning a round with no point card in it does not stop them.

Skunk

In Cribbage, winning while the loser has fewer than 91 points — a win that counts extra when you keep score over several games.

Some groups keep score over several games of Cribbage. A skunk is a win where the loser finished with fewer than 91 points (90 or fewer); it counts as two game wins instead of one. A double skunk, fewer than 61 points (60 or fewer), counts for more: three wins in some groups and four in others. It is an optional extra, not part of the basic rules.

Slam

Winning all thirteen rounds in a deal of Whist, worth the maximum seven odd tricks.

Winning every round in a deal. Since the first six are the book and score nothing, a slam is worth seven odd tricks — the most a single Whist deal can score from rounds alone.

Sleight of hand

A concealed move the audience is not meant to notice.

A hidden maneuver — a secret cut, a palmed card, a controlled shuffle — performed so the audience does not register it. Where cardistry is meant to be admired, sleight of hand is meant to go unseen.

Solitaire (Klondike)

A card game for one player. In the United States the word usually means Klondike: seven columns, four home piles and a draw pile.

A solitaire is any card game for one person. The best-known one, which most Americans mean when they say Solitaire, is Klondike: you deal seven columns of cards, build them downward in alternating colors, and try to move all 52 cards onto four home piles, one for each suit, from the ace up to the king. In Britain these games are called Patience.

Spread

Cards laid out in a row or an arc so part of every card shows.

A spread can be done in the hand or on a flat surface. See Ribbon spread for the whole deck laid out in one line.

Spring

Bending the deck and letting the cards shoot in a stream from one hand to the other.

The move most people picture when they hear “cardistry.” The deck is squeezed at its short ends so it bows, and easing the pressure lets the cards escape one at a time into the other hand. Also called a card spring.

Starter

The card turned up after the cards are dealt, shared by every hand when they are counted.

After both players have put two cards into the crib in Cribbage, the player who is not dealing cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower half. That card, the starter, is never played, but it is added to every hand — and to the crib — as a shared extra card when they are counted once the playing is over.

Stock

The face-down pile of cards left after the deal, which players draw from. This site calls it the draw pile.

In rummy games and many others, the stock is the pile of cards left face down after the deal. On your turn you draw the top card of it, or in some games take from the discard pile instead. This site calls it the draw pile.

Straddle grip

A way of holding the deck out near your fingertips, thumb on the middle of one long side and fingers on the other.

A cardistry grip used for one-handed moves such as the Charlier cut: the thumb is on the middle of one long side, the fingers are on the other long side, and the little finger supports the bottom short edge.

Swing cut

A two-handed cut in which your index finger swings a part of the deck out to the side, like a gate on a hinge.

The deck is held from above in the Biddle grip. The index finger lifts the top part, which swings out sideways, the other hand takes it, and the rest of the deck drops on top. Guides call it very easy to learn.

Swivel cut

A two-handed cut that starts in the Biddle grip: the other hand comes in from behind and lifts a small part off the deck.

The deck starts in the Biddle grip. The other hand comes in from behind, and its thumb lifts a small part of the deck from the thumb-side edge. That part pivots around the index finger and drops into the center of that hand’s palm. Wikipedia describes it this way.

Sybil cut

A harder two-handed cut in which the deck is split into several parts that are passed around, ending in a display.

First published in 1992 by Chris Kenner as “The Five Faces of Sybil,” which ends with five parts of the deck shown at once. Many histories treat it as the move that started modern cardistry. It is usually learned after the basics.

Tableau

In Solitaire, the seven columns of cards that you build downward in alternating colors. This site calls them the columns.

The tableau is the main layout of a Solitaire game. In Klondike it is seven columns of cards, with a different number of hidden cards in each. You build the columns downward, alternating red and black, and move cards from column to column. Card players say tableau. This site says the columns.

Talon

Another word for the stock, the face-down pile of cards you draw from. This site calls it the draw pile.

Talon is another word for the stock: the face-down pile of cards left after the layout is dealt. Some books on Solitaire use this word. This site calls it the draw pile.

TCG

Trading card game — Magic, Pokémon, Lorcana and the like.

Trading card game: one where players build their own decks from cards bought and traded individually, rather than from a fixed set in a box. Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Lorcana are the big ones, and they use the same sleeves, binders and holders.

The click

A clicking sound a deck makes when humidity has warped it.

Cardists use the phrase for that sound.

The show

In Cribbage, counting the points in each hand and in the crib once the card-playing part is over.

After all the cards have been played in Cribbage, each player in turn counts the points in their hand with the starter card, and the dealer counts the crib last. This counting is called the show. It is where most points are scored in a deal.

The Werm

A cardistry move that starts from the Z grip.

Wikipedia says it begins with the deck in the Z grip, with the parts pivoted to form a reverse U and then a square. This entry says no more than that.

Thumb fan

The classic fan: your thumb spreads the deck into a half-circle around one corner.

One hand holds the deck firmly at a corner, and the thumb of the other hand sweeps across the top so the cards spread into an even half-circle. It is one of the oldest documented flourishes.

Toploader

A rigid plastic sleeve that stops a single card bending.

A stiff plastic holder for one card, used for storage or mailing. A card goes into a soft penny sleeve (the cheap, thin kind of sleeve) first and then into the toploader — never bare, because the rigid plastic will scuff the surface it is meant to protect.

Trick

One round of play: every player puts down one card, and the best card wins all of them. This site calls it a round.

One round of play. Each player in turn puts down a single card, and whoever played the highest card of the suit that was played first picks up all of them and starts the next one. If any cards of the strongest suit (card players call it trump) were played, the highest of those wins instead. A deal where each player holds thirteen cards has thirteen of them. This site calls a trick a round; card players, older rule books and many other websites say trick.

See also: Round, Trick-taking, Trump, Follow suit

Trick-taking

A game played in rounds, where every player puts down one card and the best card wins them all.

Everyone puts one card into the middle — card players call that a trick — and whoever played the highest card of the suit that was played first wins all of them and starts the next round. If the game has a strongest suit (trump) and anyone played one, the highest of those wins instead. A high card that is neither of the first suit nor of the strongest suit wins nothing, which is the rule beginners most often miss. Hearts, Spades, Euchre, Whist and Bridge all work this way. What separates them is what you are trying to do with the rounds you win: win as many as you promised, avoid winning any at all, or collect particular cards.

Trump

The strongest suit in a deal — even its lowest card beats the highest card of any other suit.

A suit chosen to outrank the other three for the duration of a deal. The two of the strongest suit beats the ace of every other suit. Some games fix it permanently (Spades is always spades), some choose it fresh each deal (Euchre), and some have no strongest suit at all (Hearts). This site says “the strongest suit” and explains it where it matters; card players call it trump.

Twirl

Spinning a card or a small part of the deck around your fingers.

Wikipedia says twirls are mostly done with a small number of cards, with the performer fixing the center of the card and rotating it without changing its position.

Two-handed cut

A cut that uses both hands.

The swing cut and the Sybil cut are two-handed cuts. See Cut for what a cut means in cardistry.

Uncut sheet

A printed sheet of cards before it is cut apart.

A sheet carries a whole deck, finished except for the cutting. Some card makers sell them; Virtuoso Card Co. mentions selling uncut sheets.

Undercut

Beating the player who knocked by having the same leftover points as they do, or fewer — worth a bonus.

What happens when the player who knocked turns out to have as many leftover points as their opponent, or more. The knocker gets nothing, and the opponent scores the difference plus a bonus. It is the reason knocking with exactly ten leftover points is a gamble rather than a formality.

Upcard

The one card turned face up after the cards are dealt. In Euchre its suit may become the strongest suit; in Gin Rummy it starts the discard pile.

In Euchre, the card turned up after the deal, whose suit is offered as the strongest suit. In Gin Rummy, the card turned up to start the discard pile, which either player may take on the first turn. Both are called the upcard for the same reason: it is the one card left face up while all the other cards stay hidden.

Void

Having no cards at all in one suit, which lets you play any card whenever that suit is started.

Having no cards left in a particular suit. It is usually a good thing: because you cannot play a card of that suit, you are free to play a card of the strongest suit and win the round, or to get rid of a card you did not want. Deliberately emptying yourself of a suit is called voiding.

Waste

In Solitaire, the face-up pile of cards turned over from the draw pile and not played. This site calls it the turned-over pile.

The waste, or waste pile, is where cards go when you turn them over from the draw pile in Solitaire. Only its top card can be played. A card you do not play stays there until the draw pile is used up and the pile is turned back over. This site calls it the turned-over pile.

Waterfall

Cards cascading from one hand to the other like a waterfall, done by bowing the deck and easing the pressure.

The deck is bowed in one hand over the other, and the cards peel off one after another in a falling stream. Some guides call it a cascade, but others use that word for a different move, so the name is not settled.

Wild card

A card that can stand in for another card. In Crazy Eights every 8 is wild; in Canasta and Hand and Foot, the 2s and the jokers are.

In Crazy Eights an 8 can be played on any card, whatever its suit and rank. The player who plays it names a suit, and the next player must play a card of that suit or another 8. In Canasta and Hand and Foot a wild card (a 2 or a joker) can stand in for a natural card of any rank in a group. A group needs more natural cards than wild cards, and cannot be made of wild cards alone. A wild card on top of the discard pile also stops the next player taking the pile. Card players call all of these wild cards. Some groups make another card wild instead, such as jacks or aces.

XCM

Extreme card manipulation: an older name for card flourishing that you may still see on old forums and videos.

Before “cardistry” caught on, flourishes were also called card manipulation and card stunts, and the hobby was sometimes called XCM.

Vulnerable

In rubber Bridge, a side that has won one game: it earns bigger bonuses when it succeeds and pays bigger penalties when it fails.

In rubber Bridge a side becomes vulnerable when it has won a game, and stays vulnerable until the rubber ends. A vulnerable side that fails its contract (when it was not doubled) pays 100 for each round short instead of 50, and a vulnerable side that makes a slam scores 750 for a small slam instead of 500, and 1500 for a grand slam instead of 1000. In duplicate Bridge, the number on the board says which side is vulnerable.

Short for “extreme card manipulation”, an older name for the kind of showy card handling now called cardistry.

You may meet the letters XCM in videos and shops about card flourishes. They stand for extreme card manipulation, and the cards and moves they describe are the ones covered under cardistry: fans, spreads, cuts and throws done for how they look.

Z grip

A cardistry hold that some moves start from, including the Sybil cut and the Werm.

Wikipedia says the Sybil cut and the Werm start with the deck held in the Z grip. This entry does not describe where the fingers go; the grips lessons on this site cover the holds they teach.

See also: Sybil cut, The Werm, Biddle grip

Books, if you want the whole shelf

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Our rules pages cover one game each, properly. These four cover hundreds between them, and are what to buy if you would rather have a book on the shelf than a tab open.

According to Hoyle

Richard L. Frey

The standard reference, in print in one form or another since 1742. Rules for several hundred games with no attempt to teach strategy — the book you reach for to settle an argument.

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Hoyle's Rules of Games

Philip D. Morehead

The modern paperback most households own. Compact, cheap, and covers the games people actually play rather than every game ever recorded.

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The Penguin Book of Card Games

David Parlett

The best single volume if you want to know why a game works, not just how. Parlett is a game historian and it shows — five hundred games with their origins and variants.

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Card Games For Dummies

Barry Rigal

The gentlest starting point. Assumes nothing, explains the vocabulary as it goes, and covers the common household games properly before moving on.

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