Jack (playing card) Jack (playing card) A jack or knave is a playing card which, in traditional French and English decks, pictures a man in the traditional or historic aristocratic dress generally associated with Europe of the 16th or 17th century. The usual rank of a jack, within its suit, plays as if it was an 11 (that is, between the 10 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 continue play. The
Jack (playing card) of Harts: Haile Fellowe, Well Meet", where his "Supplication to Card-Makers" appears, thought to have been written to the English manufacturers who copied to the English decks the court figures created by the French. 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. The jack, traditionally the lowest face card, has often been promoted to a higher or the highest position in the