I was recently alerted to the existence of an interesting phenomena happening in our cities: playing cards. Apparently once you start looking, playing cards are scattered throughout our nation's cities, some apparently discarded, but many seemingly placed with great care and deliberation.
What do these playing cards mean? Who left them, and why?
No one knows the answer, and it is likely that there isn't a single answer that explains all of them. Some of the proposed explanations include:
1. Kids
Kids play with cards all the time, and they are often careless. There are a lot of ways a playing card can become detached from its kid owner: it can fly out of the kid's bicycle spokes, get lost while building a house of cards or playing a game of "52 Pick-Up," or just get dropped out of an overstuffed backpack.
2. Interrupted Gamblers
Playing cards are often used for street gambling, from informal games of Blackjack to the classic "3 Card Monte" dealers. Gambling in the streets is illegal, of course. When a cop is spotted, the players scatter - sometimes leaving their cards behind them.
3. Poker Runs
A "Poker Run" is an event where you stop at five stations, and draw a card at each one. The person at the end who has the best poker hand wins. Traditional Poker Runs have been played by motorcycle riders, but the game has expanded to running clubs, skateboarders, bike riders, etc.
4. Code
Playing cards have been used as code ever since the invention of playing cards. Cards are commonplace and easily overlooked, which makes them excellent for use as temporary markers. Be it Irish Travelers marking a path, or gang members marking their territory.
5. Magic
Playing cards are often involved in magic. (I can't even think of playing cards without thinking of the novel Last Call by Tim Powers.) You have your diviners, who could be laying out a spread on the sidewalk or too close to a window. And then you have the Vodun practitioners, who sometimes use regular playing cards in their rituals and offerings.
6. Magicians
Many cities also suffer the plague of street magicians, who urge you to pick a card. These modern-day versions of the "annoying mime" can often cause lost or abandoned cards, when their marks walk away in annoyance. (The same is true of kids practicing magic acts as a hobby.)
What do these playing cards mean? Who left them, and why?
No one knows the answer, and it is likely that there isn't a single answer that explains all of them. Some of the proposed explanations include:
1. Kids
Kids play with cards all the time, and they are often careless. There are a lot of ways a playing card can become detached from its kid owner: it can fly out of the kid's bicycle spokes, get lost while building a house of cards or playing a game of "52 Pick-Up," or just get dropped out of an overstuffed backpack.
2. Interrupted Gamblers
Playing cards are often used for street gambling, from informal games of Blackjack to the classic "3 Card Monte" dealers. Gambling in the streets is illegal, of course. When a cop is spotted, the players scatter - sometimes leaving their cards behind them.
3. Poker Runs
A "Poker Run" is an event where you stop at five stations, and draw a card at each one. The person at the end who has the best poker hand wins. Traditional Poker Runs have been played by motorcycle riders, but the game has expanded to running clubs, skateboarders, bike riders, etc.
4. Code
Playing cards have been used as code ever since the invention of playing cards. Cards are commonplace and easily overlooked, which makes them excellent for use as temporary markers. Be it Irish Travelers marking a path, or gang members marking their territory.
5. Magic
Playing cards are often involved in magic. (I can't even think of playing cards without thinking of the novel Last Call by Tim Powers.) You have your diviners, who could be laying out a spread on the sidewalk or too close to a window. And then you have the Vodun practitioners, who sometimes use regular playing cards in their rituals and offerings.
6. Magicians
Many cities also suffer the plague of street magicians, who urge you to pick a card. These modern-day versions of the "annoying mime" can often cause lost or abandoned cards, when their marks walk away in annoyance. (The same is true of kids practicing magic acts as a hobby.)