TIL the first Bicycle deck from 1885 had no jokers at all

Honestly, I was just digging through some old forum posts last night and found someone talking about the history of Bicycle cards. They said the very first deck from 1885 didn't even have jokers in it, they were added later for some game called Euchre. That blew my mind since every deck I've ever owned has two jokers in the box. Has anyone else run across weird old deck facts like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinhunt25d ago

That old Euchre thing is wild, I actually learned about it from a documentary on the history of poker where they mentioned jokers originally being called "the best bower" and acting like a super trump card.

elliotburns26d ago

Oh yeah, I remember reading that jokers were basically a late addition for Euchre, which is wild because now they feel like a core part of any deck. If you ever get into card magic, try grabbing a vintage deck with no jokers - it really messes with your routines.