Hi guys, welcome back to English with Max. Today I have something a little
different for you. Something that's hopefully a bit of fun. Today we are
going to learn vocabulary related to these things: playing cards. So if you
want to go to a casino, maybe to play some blackjack. Or if you want to maybe
play some poker online, or do other similar things that normally aren't very
good for your bank account, this video might help you.
Yes, Max is here to help you gamble.
No, in all seriousness, guys, now I'm being serious, this is vocabulary that you
probably won't learn in a classroom, but it's vocabulary that you will hear
in English-speaking countries, or in movies and TV shows. And of course there
are a lot more games you can play with these than just poker and blackjack.
So if you're interested in reaching an advanced level in English, this is quite
important vocabulary. And stay till the end because at the end there will be a quiz.
Not a written one, but a spoken one. How exciting! As usual, this is my social
media. I've been doing quite a lot on Instagram lately - I never thought that
would happen - but anyway, go check it out, and remember to hit the red subscribe
button and the little bell to never miss a video.
Now some of you might have noticed at the beginning of the video that I called
these playing cards. I didn't just say "cards". By the way, in American
pronunciation you pronounce the R, so it's something like "cards". But in the UK
and Australia we don't pronounce the R, and it's pronounced "cards". "Cards."
Most of the time when we talk about these, we just say "cards". The problem is, the word
"card" has lots of meanings. For example, you might give somebody a birthday card.
Or in soccer (or football) if you do something a bit naughty, you might
receive a red card. Normally it's clear from context which cards we are talking
about, but if you want to be specific you can call these "playing cards".
One playing card, two playing cards, etc.
If you play a game with playing cards,
we use the expression: "to play cards". And that could mean any
game that you play with these cards. It's a generic term. For example, I could say
to Frank, "Frank, do you want to play cards later?" And he could answer:
"Ah no, because I don't have any fingers."
Fair enough.
A set of playing cards is called a deck. Deck. Or you could say: "a deck of cards".
Here are some example sentences with "deck". A standard deck has 52 cards.
Normally you need one deck of cards to play a card game. However, to play Canasta
you need two decks. Now normally before you play a card game, you need to mix them.
(Piece of hair.) But yeah, when we're playing cards, we don't usually say "mix".
We actually use the verb "to shuffle". So I am now shuffling the cards. I actually
used to be pretty good at this. I sort of had this trick that I would do.
Let's see if I can still do it.
Bugger.
Okay, maybe I need a table.
Told you I could do it!
After we've shuffled the cards, normally we deal the cards.
"To deal" means to distribute, but we don't normally say "distribute" when we play cards.
We usually say "to deal". "To deal the cards." When you play cards with other
people, normally you take turns in dealing. That means that if I'm playing
cards with Frank and George, Frank might deal the first time, then George will
deal, then I will deal. That's taking turns. Now if I want to tell Frank that
this time he is supposed to deal, I would say to him: "Frank, it is your turn to deal."
I could also say to him: "Frank, it is your deal."
Because "deal" can also be a noun.
Now let's look at the types of cards in a deck.
The first thing you need to know is that there are four suits.
We don't say "colours". I know that in French the word for suit in this context
is just "colour" (couleur), but in English we can say that there are two colours
(red and black), but there are four different suits. And by the way, "suit" is spelled and
pronounced the same way as this type of suit.
The four suits are: hearts. Hearts.
Diamonds. Diamonds.
Clubs. Clubs.
And spades. Spades.
There are thirteen of each suit, and each card within a suit has its own rank or value.
Okay? So this is a king. K for King.
This is a queen. Q for queen.
And this is a jack. J for jack.
These are called "face cards" (these three) because they have a person on them.
This is an ace. Ace.
All the other cards are just called the number that is on the card.
So that is a seven, that is a nine, that is a three and that is a ten.
Very easy.
Most decks of cards also come with two jokers.
This is a joker. Joker. Yes, just like the villain in Batman: the Joker.
To talk about specific cards we need to use the word "of".
For example: this is the ace of hearts.
This is the ten of spades.
This is the jack of diamonds.
This is the three of clubs.
And this is the king of hearts.
Just a small pronunciation point. When we say "of" between two words,
we don't always pronounce it "of". We often say "ehv" or "ah".
And that's particularly when we're speaking quickly. For example, we could say:
This is the queen "ehv" spades. The queen "ehv" spades.
Or you could say: the queen "ah" spades. The queen "ah" spades.
This is the nine "ehv" diamonds. The nine "ehv" diamonds.
Or: the nine "ah" diamonds. The nine "ah" diamonds.
Okay, now we're going to play a little game. Very exciting!
This is just a little quiz to help you practise saying the
names of different cards. So I will show you a card, and then you will say the
name of the card. Then I will give you the correct answer. So if I show you this
card, you will say: "The six of diamonds." Then I will say: "The six of diamonds."
Very good! Okay, are you ready?
Now don't just say these in your head.
If you want to practise your speaking and pronunciation, you need to say these out loud.
Okay? Let's get started.
The two of clubs. The two of clubs.
The jack of diamonds. The jack of diamonds.
The six of hearts. The six of hearts.
The joker. The joker.
Did you remember that one? Yes, this is a joker.
Five of spades. The five of spades.
The queen of hearts. The queen of hearts.
The eight of diamonds. The eight of diamonds.
The king of clubs. The king of clubs.
Last one.
The ace of spades. The ace of spades.
I hope you've enjoyed this lesson. If you have, please hit the thumbs up, and please
let me know in the comments if you like playing card games, or if card games are
popular in your country. Thanks very much for watching, guys. I'll see you next time.
Bye bye.
Um... but like...
I can't get George on my hand.
And George might deal first, then Geor-
There's hammering going on. Always when I film...