Card Game Terms: A Complete Glossary

About This Glossary

Whether you are learning your first card game or brushing up before a tournament, knowing the terminology makes everything easier. This glossary covers the most common card game terms, organized by category, so you can quickly find the definition you need.

General Card Terms

Deck — A complete set of playing cards. A standard deck has 52 cards in four suits with no jokers.

Suit — One of four categories in a standard deck: Clubs (♣), Diamonds (♦), Hearts (♥), and Spades (♠). Clubs and Spades are black; Diamonds and Hearts are red.

Rank — The value of a card within its suit: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King.

Face Cards — The Jack, Queen, and King of any suit. Also called court cards or picture cards.

Ace — Can be the highest card (above King) or the lowest card (below 2), depending on the game.

Wild Card — A card that can substitute for any other card. Jokers are the most common wild cards, though some games designate specific ranks as wild.

Hand — The cards a player currently holds. Also refers to a complete round of play from deal to scoring.

Deal — The act of distributing cards to players at the start of a hand. The player who deals is called the dealer.

Draw — Taking one or more cards from the stock pile or deck into your hand.

Discard — Removing a card from your hand and placing it in a discard pile or waste pile. Also called throwing off.

Shuffle — Randomizing the order of cards in the deck before dealing.

Cut — Splitting the deck into two parts after shuffling and reversing their order, usually done by the player to the dealer's right.

Stock — The remaining undealt cards, placed face-down for drawing during play. Also called the draw pile or talon.

Waste Pile — A face-up pile where discarded or drawn cards are placed. In Solitaire, cards drawn from the stock that are not immediately played go here.

Void — Having no cards of a particular suit in your hand. Being void in a suit allows you to play off-suit or discard strategically.

Gameplay Terms

Turn — A single player's opportunity to take an action (play a card, draw, discard, etc.).

Round — A complete cycle of play in which every player has taken a turn. Also called a trick in trick-taking games.

Lead — The first card played in a trick or round. The player who plays it is said to "lead."

Follow Suit — Playing a card of the same suit that was led. Most trick-taking games require players to follow suit if possible.

Clockwise — The standard direction of play in most Western card games (left to right).

Pass — Choosing not to play when it is your turn (in games that allow it). Also refers to giving cards to another player before play begins, as in Hearts.

Meld — A combination of cards that scores points, such as a set of matching ranks or a run of consecutive cards in the same suit. Common in Rummy-style games.

Set — Three or four cards of the same rank (e.g., three 7s). Also called three of a kind or four of a kind.

Run — Three or more consecutive cards of the same suit (e.g., 5-6-7 of Hearts). Also called a sequence.

Match — Pairing two or more cards together, usually by rank, to remove them from play or score points.

Trick-Taking Terms

Trick — A round in which each player plays one card. The highest card (usually of the led suit) wins the trick.

Trump — A designated suit that beats all other suits. In games with trump, a low trump card beats even a high card of a non-trump suit. Hearts has no trump suit.

Slough — Playing an off-suit card when you cannot follow suit. Also called sluffing or discarding.

Renege (Revoke) — Illegally failing to follow suit when you have a card of the led suit. This is a rule violation in most games and usually carries a penalty.

Breaking Hearts — In Hearts, the first time a Heart is played (discarded on a trick). Until Hearts are broken, they cannot be led.

Shooting the Moon — In Hearts, taking all 13 Hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single hand. Instead of receiving 26 penalty points, every other player receives 26 points.

Queen of Spades — In Hearts, this card carries 13 penalty points — the single most dangerous card in the game. Also called the Black Lady or Black Maria.

Overtrick — A trick won beyond the number bid or required. Relevant in games like Spades and Bridge.

Bid — A declaration of how many tricks a player or team expects to win. Used in Spades, Bridge, and similar games.

Solitaire Terms

Tableau — The main playing area where cards are arranged in columns. In Klondike, the tableau has 7 columns; in FreeCell, it has 8.

Foundation — The piles where completed suits are built, usually from Ace to King. Completing all four foundations wins the game.

Column — A vertical line of cards on the tableau. Cards are stacked in descending order with alternating colors (in most Solitaire variants).

Free Cell — In FreeCell, one of four temporary storage spaces that each holds a single card. Managing free cells is the core strategy of the game.

Cascade — Another term for a tableau column, used especially in FreeCell.

Build — Placing cards on the tableau in the correct order (descending rank, alternating colors) or on foundations (ascending rank, same suit).

Stack — A pile of cards, usually referring to an ordered group on the tableau.

Flip — Turning a face-down card face-up, typically after removing the card above it on the tableau.

Cycle — Going through the entire stock pile once. Some Solitaire variants limit the number of cycles allowed.

Reserve — A special pile of cards (used in some Solitaire variants like Canfield) that can be played to the tableau or foundations one at a time.

Scoring Terms

Penalty Card — A card that adds points to your score in games where the lowest score wins. In Hearts, all Hearts and the Queen of Spades are penalty cards.

Points — The scoring unit. Depending on the game, you may want to maximize or minimize your points.

Game Point — The score threshold that triggers the end of a multi-hand game. In Hearts, this is typically 100 points.

Hand Score — The points earned or lost in a single hand, before being added to the running total.

Further Reading

• Classic Card Games: The Definitive List — overview of the most popular card games
• Hearts Rules: Complete Guide — see trick-taking terms in action
• Solitaire Rules: Complete Guide — see solitaire terms in action

Start Playing

Now that you know the terminology, put it to use. Play Solitaire or Play Hearts online for free and see these terms in action.