What Are Playing Card Indices?

March 17th, 2009 admin

It may seem obvious that playing cards need to be marked in order for a poker player to know their values, but this is actually a modern invention. Before cards were marked players were just expected to infer the value of the card based on the photos at the casino. For example, the decorations of some cards in Germany showed the rankings of members of the royal household. The lower valued cards were represented as maidservants or lower members of the royal household.

This kind of assumed card ranking was not always applicable. Standardized number systems were an easy way for players to recognize at a glance the value of their cards. The card markings, called indices, were often placed in the upper corner of the cards so that players could tightly fan their cards together in their hand. The most popular form of indices was in alternating corners so that players did not have to rotate the cards in their hands to read the values on the poker cards.

Because the cards could be tightly squeezed together, the earliest versions of cards with indices were often called squeezers. These cards significantly cut down on the possibility of players cheating by reading off another player’s hand. Squeezers have become the standardized form of playing card, and are still used today.

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