How many red kings are in a deck of cards

The king is a playing card with a picture of a king displayed on it. The king is usually the highest-ranking face card. In the French version of playing cards and tarot decks, the king immediately outranks the queen. In Italian and Spanish playing cards, the king immediately outranks the knight. In German and Swiss playing cards, the king immediately outranks the Ober. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the ace is higher. Aces began outranking kings around 1500 with Trappola being the earliest known game in which the aces were highest in all four suits.[1] In the Ace-Ten family of games such as pinochle and schnapsen, both the ace and the 10 rank higher than the king.[2]

History[edit]

French Rouen pattern on the left, Spanish Toledo pattern on the right

The king card is the oldest and most universal court card. It most likely originated in Persian Ganjifeh where kings are depicted as seated on thrones and outranking the viceroy cards which are mounted on horses. Playing cards were transmitted to Italy and Spain via the Mamluks and Moors.[3][4] The best preserved and most complete deck of Mamluk cards, the Topkapı pack, did not display human figures but just listed their rank most likely due to religious prohibition. It is not entirely sure if the Topkapı pack was representative of all Mamluk decks as it was a custom-made luxury item used for display. A fragment of what may be a seated king card was recovered in Egypt which may explain why the poses of court cards in Europe resemble those in Persia and India.[5]

Evolution of the King of Hearts from the Rouennais pattern to the English pattern

Seated kings were generally common throughout Europe. During the 15th century, the Spanish started producing standing kings. The French originally used Spanish cards before developing their regional deck patterns. Many Spanish court designs were simply reused when the French invented their own suit-system around 1480.[5] The English imported their cards from Rouen until the early 17th century when foreign card imports were banned.[6] The king of hearts is sometimes called the "suicide king" because he appears to be sticking his sword into his head. This is a result of centuries of bad copying by English card makers where the king's axe head has disappeared.[7][8]

Starting in the 15th century, French manufacturers assigned to each of the court cards names taken from history or mythology.[9] This practice survives only in the Paris pattern which ousted all its rivals, including the Rouen pattern around 1780.[10][11] The names for the kings in the Paris pattern (portrait officiel) are:[12]

Most French-suited continental European patterns are descended from the Paris pattern but they have dropped the names associated with each card.[10]

The suits which are represented by red cards are hearts and diamonds while the suits represented by black cards are spades and clubs.

Let's learn about the suits in a deck of cards.

Suits in a deck of cards are the representations of red and black color on the cards.

There are 52 cards in a deck.

Each card can be categorized into 4 suits constituting 13 cards each.

These cards are also known as court cards.

They are Kings, Queens, and Jacks in all 4 suits.

These cards have numbers on them along with each suit being equal to the number on number cards. 

• There are 13 cards of each suit, consisting of 1 Ace, 3 face cards, and 9 number cards.
• There are 4 Aces, 12 face cards, and 36 number cards in a 52 card deck.
• Probability of drawing any card will always lie between 0 and 1.
• The number of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs is same in every pack of 52 cards.

Now that you know all about facts about a deck of cards, you can draw a card from a deck and find its probability easily.

How to Determine the Probability of Drawing a Card?

Let's learn how to find probability first.

Now you know that probability is the ratio of number of favorable outcomes to the number of total outcomes, let's apply it here.

Example 1: What is the probability of drawing a king from a deck of cards?

Solution: Here the event E is drawing a king from a deck of cards.

There are 52 cards in a deck of cards. 

Hence, total number of outcomes = 52

The number of favorable outcomes = 4 (as there are 4 kings in a deck)

Hence, the probability of this event occuring is 

P(E) = 4/52 = 1/13

Example 2: What is the probability of drawing a black card from a pack of cards?

Solution: Here the event E is drawing a black card from a pack of cards.

The total number of outcomes = 52

The number of favorable outcomes = 26

Hence, the probability of event occuring is 

P(E) = 26/52 = 1/2

Jessica has drawn a card from a well-shuffled deck. Help her find the probability of the card either being red or a King.

Solution

Jessica knows here that event E is the card drawn being either red or a King.

The total number of outcomes = 52

There are 26 red cards, and 4 cards which are Kings.

However, 2 of the red cards are Kings.

If we add 26 and 4, we will be counting these two cards twice.

Thus, the correct number of outcomes which are favorable to E is

26 + 4 - 2 = 28

Hence, the probability of event occuring is

P(E) = 28/52 = 7/13

Help Diane determine the probability of the following:

• Drawing a Red Queen
• Drawing a King of Spades
• Drawing a Red Number Card 

Solution

Diane knows here the events E1, E2, and E3 are Drawing a Red Queen, Drawing a King of Spades, and Drawing a Red Number Card.

The total number of outcomes in every case = 52

There are 26 red cards, of which 2 are Queens.

Hence, the probability of event E1 occuring is

P(E1) = 2/52 = 1/26

There are 13 cards in each suit, of which 1 is King.

Hence, the probability of event E2 occuring is

P(E2) = 1/52 

• Drawing a Red Number Card

There are 9 number cards in each suit and there are 2 suits which are red in color. 

There are 18 red number cards.

Hence, the probability of event E3 occuring is

P(E3) = 18/52 = 9/26 

Here are a few activities for you to practice.

Select/Type your answer and click the "Check Answer" button to see the result.

Let's Summarize

We hope you enjoyed learning about probability of drawing a card from a pack of 52 cards with the practice questions. Now you will easily be able to solve problems on number of cards in a deck, face cards in a deck, 52 card deck, spades hearts diamonds clubs in pack of cards. Now you can draw a card from a deck and find its probability easily .

The mini-lesson targeted the fascinating concept of card probability. The math journey around card probability starts with what a student already knows, and goes on to creatively crafting a fresh concept in the young minds. Done in a way that is not only relatable and easy to grasp, but will also stay with them forever. Here lies the magic with Cuemath.

About Cuemath

At Cuemath, our team of math experts is dedicated to making learning fun for our favorite readers, the students! Through an interactive and engaging learning-teaching-learning approach, the teachers explore all angles of a topic. Be it problems, online classes, videos, or any other form of relation, it’s the logical thinking and smart learning approach that we, at Cuemath, believe in.

FAQs on Card Probability

1. How do you calculate the probability of drawing a card?

We find the ratio of the favorable outcomes as per the condition of drawing the card to the total number of outcomes, i.e, 52.

2. What is the probability of drawing any face card?

Probability of drawing any face card is 6/26.

3. What is the probability of drawing a red card?

Probability of drawing a red card is 1/2.

4. What is the probability of drawing a king or a red card?

Probability of drawing a king or a red card is 7/13.

5. What is the probability of drawing a king or a queen?

The probability of drawing a king or a queen is 2/13.

6. What are the 5 rules of probability?

The 5 rules of probability are:

For any event E, the probability of occurence of E will always lie between 0 and 1

The sum of probabilities of every possible outcome will always be 1

The sum of probability of occurence of E and probability of E not occuring will always be 1

When any two events are not disjoint, the probability of occurence of A and B is not 0 while when two events are disjoint, the probability of occurence of A and B is 0.

How many reds are in a deck of cards?

What is the probability of getting a red king in 52 deck of cards?