Joker (playing card) 6 Jokers (3 different pairs) in a 52-card French deck. German Rummy uses 2 packs of French playing cards, with 3 Jokers per pack. The Joker is often compared to "(the) Fool" in the Tarot or Tarock decks. They share many similarities both in appearance and play function. In Central Europe, the Fool, or "Sküs", is the highest trump; elsewhere as an "excuse" ("L'Excuse") that can be played at any time to avoid following suit but cannot win. Practitioners of cartomancy often include a Joker in the standard 52-card deck with a meaning similar to the Fool card of Tarot.
Playing card Playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and were first invented in China during the Tang dynasty. Playing cards may have been invented during the Tang dynasty around the 9th century AD as a result of the usage of woodblock printing technology. The first possible reference to card games comes from a 9th-century text known as the "Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang",