Article: Instead of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs, a Spanish deck of cards is made of up 4 different figures, each of which has its own name. There are golden coins, called oros; there are glasses (or cups), called copas; there are swords, called espadas; and there are sticks (or clubs), called bastos. The ace of swords and the ace of sticks are the 2 highest ranking cards in the deck. Though they hold a numerical value of 1, they will trump any other card because of their rank. A Spanish deck is made up of 40 cards instead of 48. This is because there are no 8s or 9s in the entire deck. There are aces through 7s, each of which holds a numerical value that matches the number on the card. There are also face cards, which hold no numerical value. The jack is called the sota and has a number 10 in the upper corner; the horse (or knight) is called the caballo and has a number 11 in the upper corner; the king is called the rey and has a 12 in the upper corner. Remember, the face cards have a 0 point value, but they rank higher than many of the numerical cards, which means they can often win tricks. Each deck may have slight variations on what the face cards look like, but if you pay attention to the numbers in the upper corners, that should keep you from getting lost. This will be important when you’re trying to win individual tricks during the game. Follow this ranking order from the highest to the lowest to determine who wins a trick: Ace of swords; ace of sticks; seven of swords; seven of golds; all 3s; all 2s; ace of golds; ace of glasses; all kings; all horses; all jacks; seven of glasses; seven of sticks; all 6s; all 5s; all 4s.

What is a summary?
Differentiate between the 4 suits in a Spanish deck. Recognize how the deck is assembled. Memorize the names for the face cards. Learn the order of cards from highest ranking to lowest ranking.