When you look at the deck of 52 cards, you will notice that there are different kinds of cards which are used in playing card games. There are the numbered cards, the printed joker cards, the Ace card, and the Face cards. All of them have different values and you play online rummy and other such card games using these 52 cards. You make sequences and sets using these cards, meld all your cards and do a valid show to win the card game.
Among all these cards, let’s talk about the Face cards. These cards are the King, Queen, and Joker. Along with the Ace card and the 10-numbered card, these cards carry 10 points each in the online rummy cash game. As compared to the other cards in the deck, the face cards are designed in detail. Let us know about the history and importance of face cards.
Significance of Face Cards
The earliest known origins of the English patterns of the deck of 52 cards date back to the year 1480. The Britishers were importing French playing cards from Antwerp and Rouen. Since then, many different patterns and designs of playing cards have been made all over the world. The Face cards were single-headed until 1860 when they became double-headed, which are still in use today for playing rummy and other card games. Even the dimensions of cards are different in different types of designs.
When it comes to colours, you know that the standard is, using black for Spades and Clubs, and using red colour for Hearts and Diamonds. But in some variations, blue is used for diamonds and green is used for clubs. In the German suits, the different colour scheme is, green for spades and yellow for diamonds.
Among the 3 Face cards, the King has the highest rank, then comes the Queen, and then the Jack. It was customary to name the King cards after French kings in the 15th century. Names like David, Charles, Alexandre, and Caesar were given to the king cards. Even in the Queen card, different names were bestowed; in the Persian deck, each queen is named after a figure from the Bible or mythology. In the European setting, the words king and queen sound similar to the ears, hence a queen is also called as the ‘dame’.
Smart Usage
So, after knowing about the face cards, let us know what to do and what not to do with them while playing Indian rummy.
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Try to Meld them in the Beginning.
All those who play rummy game, know that it is advised to discard their face cards at the beginning itself. But, you can do the opposite. The reason? Simple, just like you, even your opponents will discard their face cards in the beginning, so, you will get to pick up their face cards from the open deck. This gives you a golden chance to meld your face cards into sequences, thus, saving yourself from the task of discarding them. In an online rummy game, ensure that you do this only for a few rounds, after that, still if your face cards are lying idle, just discard them.
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Help of the Ace & Wild Card.
If you are unable to meld your face cards with the normal cards, in a pure sequence or a set, then you can take the help of special cards. In the rummy card game, the Ace card has dual use, it can be used beside 2 as A-2-3, and also beside the King card as Q-K-A. If you have a queen and a king, then you should not just look for a Jack, but also for an Ace card and a joker card, this one can be a Wild joker or a printed joker.
Joker cards can be of great help in rummy online, especially to reduce your idle points. Use them with high-value cards and drastically reduce your points. If you have or get 2 jokers, you can make a sequence with only one face card as WJ-WJ-Q. it is not every time you have to discard a face card in rummy cash games.
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Don’t Keep it for a Long Time!
Some or the other opponent can do a valid declaration at any time, even after one round! Hence, your aim is to keep your idle card points to a minimum, because even if you have to lose, do it by the least possible points. This is why never keep your high-value cards idle for too long. If you are sure that after a few rounds you won’t get to meld them, then just discard them.
The general view about Face cards is not good among most of the players of online rummy cash games, they usually try to get rid of these cards without even thinking of their utility. But, every card is valuable if you use it in the right way. You can also make custom strategies using the king, queen, and jack cards and use them when you play rummy games online.
