Besides there were 22 trump-cards with numbers from 1 to 21. Every card had a name of its own: the emperor, the empress, the nun, the conjurer, the fool etc. Thus, the deck incorporated 97 cards. Gradually it was substituted by new cards, which more closely resembled the modern ones.
It is surprising that the symbols of suits and the suits themselves did not change since 15th century. In the Middle Ages card games were very popular among various strata of population, ranging from a king’s court to the common people. By the way, in those times cards were not only a means to beguile the time, but also a symbol of the society structure: hearts embodied the priests, diamonds meant the bourgeoisie, spades represented officers and aristocracy, clubs referred to the peasants.
Modern card games (poker, blackjack) arose in the U.S. in the second half of the 19th century. It is difficult to name them all. There are card games for adults and children, games for training logic and wit – and there are games just to beguile the time. The more mature is the individual, the more complex are the games he plays. Having become financially independent, he lets loose his gamble: makes bets, plays in the lotteries, makes bets on the totalizator and finally funds himself in the very temple of game, the casino. Here the individual totally submits to the game, which sharpens his feelings and emotions and makes him forget everything, but the green cloth and roulette wheel. The thirst for such feelings lures again and again those people, who have at least once been in the casino. Meanwhile, the skeptics say: “If you want to win in the casino, buy one of those”.