Can You Play Poker With Tarot Cards?

Categories: Blog |
Published by: Shelly Schiff

22/04/2022

Wondering if you can play Poker with Tarot Cards? You’ve reached the right place. In this post, we will discuss if and how you can use the ancient tarot cards to play poker.

Before we delve into the core of this post, let’s start with a short background of what exactly are tarot cards and where did they come from…

What are Tarot Cards?

Tarot cards are ancient playing cards that have been used for various games as early as the mid-15th century, mostly in Europe. Later during the 18th century, some tarot cards began to be used for card reading, which you’ve probably seen in countless movies.

Contrary to poker cards, tarot cards are quite beautiful. Each card has a drawing that tells a unique story. For example, in an old tarot deck from 1835 called The Della Rocca-Gumppenberg Tarot – a magician is portrayed by a cobbler, a lover is portrayed as being torn between his love for a woman and his devotion to his king.

Tarot cards are practically the forebearers of the modern French suit decks we know today. A funny anecdote: The Joker is actually the only ancient tarot card that survived in the modern pack of cards we all know today. Back then, it was known as The Fool card.

Watch this video to get a glimpse into some of the most beautiful Tarot cards:

So, to answer our big question – YES, you can definitely play poker with tarot cards. However, this brings about new and interesting questions like are there specific rules for playing poker with tarot cards? Do you use all the cards? Just a few? And more.

Playing Poker with Tarot Cards

I know, as an avid poker player you surely spend most of your time playing online poker. If that’s the case, you should definitely read this online poker bonus guide by nodepositz. It will help you find easy and free No deposit bonuses. However, if you plan to play poker with Tarot cards anytime soon – here are some of the basic guidelines.

Despite the fact that poker did not exist back in ancient Europe, the regular tarot deck of cards is not that different from a regular poker deck. Well, a pack of tarot cards is composed of 78 cards. However, if you remove the major arcana cards from a tarot deck – it practically becomes identical to a poker deck. What are the major arcana cards? These are the 22 trump cards (numbered from 0 to 21) of the standard 78-card pack. If you want to take a step further, you can also remove the additional knight cards to play an ultimately identical game of poker.

Why should you play Poker with Tarot cards?

Well, I can’t guarantee you’ll be more successful or profitable if you play poker with tarot cards. However, your game will definitely be more intriguing, fun, and even enchanting. Imagine playing a game of poker with such beautiful and thought-provoking cards? I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on a deck of tarot cards by now, which brings me to the last section of this post.

Which Tarot deck should you get to play Poker?

If you decide to ditch your old deck of regular cards and start playing poker with tarot cards – you should definitely start with the popular Rider-Waite tarot deck. It can be found in bookstores and on plenty of sites online. Its visual illustrations are not as complex as other tarot cards – making it easier for beginners (remember you’ll need to recognize each card quickly!). This tarot pack is also less expensive than others, making it the perfect starters kit for your next poker night with the dudes!

Want to read more of our latest posts? Check out our short guide on what is 4-betting poker, or our tips you can learn from Pro Players to improve your poker game.