Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Card terms pack

A pack is the full collection of playing cards needed for a game, also known as a deck.

Standard size
52 French-suited cards1
Alternative sizes
24, 32 (Piquet), 36, 40, or 48 cards34
Solitaire use
May refer to a multiple of 52 cards2

Key points

  • The pack is the full set of cards from which a game is dealt, whether the standard 52 cards or a reduced pack.1
  • In card-game glossaries, ‘pack’ is often preferred over ‘deck’ in dealing contexts.6
  • A suit is a category within a pack, not the pack itself.5

Not the same as

  • Card game terms — the glossary this entry belongs to, not the specific term ‘pack’
Card games Card terms boat Explains ‘boat’ as slang for a full house in poker and other card game contexts. Card games Card terms clear Defines ‘clear’ in the context of discarding or removing cards from play. Card games Flush Covers terms related to a flush — same-suit hands — in various card games. Card games Card game terms and phrases A broader glossary of common card game terminology. Card games Card game terms family Explains the term ‘family’ as it relates to card sets or hierarchies. Card games Hearts card game Rules and strategy for the trick-taking game played with a standard 52-card pack.

Sources

  1. Glossary of card game terms en.wikipedia.org Glossary of card game terms — defines ‘pack’ as a complete set of cards.
  2. Glossary of solitaire terms en.wikipedia.org Glossary of solitaire terms — mentions pack in solitaire as a multiple of 52 cards.
  3. List of traditional card and tile packs - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org List of traditional card and tile packs — provides alternative pack sizes.
  4. Piquet pack en.wikipedia.org Piquet pack — defines the 32-card pack used in Piquet.
  5. Playing card suit en.wikipedia.org Playing card suit — distinguishes suit from the whole pack.
  6. Playing card en.wikipedia.org Playing card — notes that ‘pack’ is the term preferred in dealing contexts.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.