The Joker is a special card found in most modern decks of playing cards, or a Mahjong tile in some Mahjong game sets. There are usually two Jokers per deck, and the artwork on the card varies depending on the deck's publisher. Often, one Joker card will be in black and white, while the other will be in full color. At other times, one may be a red joker, while the other is black. In games where the jokers may need to be compared, the colored joker usually outranks the black-and-white one. With the red/black jokers, the red one is counted as a heart/diamond and the black is used to substitute clubs/spades. The joker often shows a court jester. The Joker's use is greatly varied. Many card games omit the card from use entirely; others, such as a 25-card variant of Euchre, make it one of the most important in the game. Often, the card is a wild card, allowed to represent a range of existing cards. The term "The Joker's wild" originates from this practice. It is believed that the term Joker comes from Jucker, the Alsatian name for Euchre, since the card was originally introduced for games of that family. Alternatively, it may represent a combination of Jucker and Poker, as these are the games in which, originally, it was most commonly featured. The Joker can be an extremely beneficial, or an extremely harmful, card. In Euchre it is often used to represent Benny, the highest trump. In poker, it is wild. However, in the children's game Old Maid, a solitary joker represents the Maid, a card that is to be avoided. The Joker sometimes bears an S superimposed over a U, wrongly believed to be the original dollar sign.
The Joker is often compared to 'The Fool' in the Trumps of the French Tarot deck. They share many similarities both in appearance and play function; the Fool is often the highest trump.
Uses of the Joker in card games
- Euchre, 500, Spades: As the highest trump, "Benny" or top bower.
- Canasta: The joker, like the deuce, is a wild card. However, the joker is worth 50 points in melding, as opposed to 20 for the deuce.
- Gin Rummy The joker is a wild card.
- Hearts: The joker does not appear in standard hearts, but in some custom variants is a penalty card with special properties.
- Poker (1): A wild card. Some poker variants restrict the capabilities of the joker, only allowing it to be used as an ace, or to complete a flush or straight (when it is called a bug). Unrestricted jokers can be very powerful; they guarantee a pair, promote an existing pair to three of a kind, and promote two-pair to a full house. In some forms, the joker may be used to promote a four-of-a-kind hand into a five-of-a-kind. Five-of-a-kind are considered the highest among all hands, even royal flushes.
- Poker (2): Alternatively, the joker is sometimes used as a buck or button (poker) to indicate which player is dealer.
- Chase the Joker: An alternative version of Chase the Ace where the Joker card is used instead of the Ace.
- War (card game): Beats all other cards.
- Pitch (card game): A point card in some variations. They rank between the Jack and the 10 (trumps only), and are marked as "High" and "Low", one outranking the other.
Fiction
- The Batman's enemy, the Joker, was originally based on the playing card in appearance. Modern versions of the character often use razor sharp playing cards, especially Jokers, as weapons and calling cards.
- The N64 Game Fighter's Destiny contains an unlockable character with the name Joker. He is definitely the most superior fighter.
- There is a Joker on the Queen album Innuendo,
- The Joker is a character, a descriptive term for people (unusual and rare) and a card to be collected in the Jostein Gaarder book The Solitaire Mystery
