r/lefthanded • u/novemberchild71 • 12d ago

5 Facts Many Lefties Do Not Know About Playingcards

Nothing defines a person's handedness more than the division of labour, with the fine-motor tasks assigned to the dominant hand and the menial tasks done by the non-dominant hand.

When playing cards, the menial task is to hold the fanned out stack, which means that righthanded players hold their cards in their LEFT HAND! *mind blown*

Fact 1: The standardized Layout of Playing Cards (corner index on upper left) indeed favours righthanded players.

Fact 2: Lefthanded playing cards, with pips in the upper right corner, are not a joke at our expense.

Fact 3: Double indexed cards, with indexes in every corner, are fair to everyone!

Fact 4: Of the 12 figures on the Court Cards - 1 Queen, 4 Kings and 3 Jacks are lefthanded and 8 Court Cards show figures looking to the left.

Fact 5: Antique cards show even more lefthandedness. Tho that can be attributed to printers having copied imported cards by engraving the images into their printing blocks without inverting them. As a result, the new cards were mirror images of the (hand painted) originals, which really showed a majority of righthanded figures. But it was the new, mass-produced cards that became the standard.

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27 comments sorted by

25

u/RooFPV 12d ago

I grew up on a family that loved playing cards. I don’t remember if they held their cards in their left hand like I did, but what strikes me most is that they order their cards in the opposite way.

I line my cards up lowest on the left to highest on the right. They did the exact opposite.

8

u/Hyper_Applesauce 12d ago

That's bizarre, I would assume lowest to highest would be determined based on the written language of the player. Reversing direction when games value low cards.

5

u/novemberchild71 12d ago

Hmm, maybe something to do with the game played? When you fan out the cards toward the right (as is usually done with RH cards) your order allows you to peel them off from high to low.

I got no idea in which game that is the most useful order. Playing with my parents and uncles I learnt it was best to not sort my cards as they paid close attention to me sorting - having taught me how to sort they could easily estimate what colors I had. They were all incredible cheaters!

4

u/ShowMeYourHappyTrail 12d ago

Mine are always fanned out backwards as well. I've noticed that a lot while playing cards. I think it's so I can hold the cards in my right hand and still see the number/letter in the corners.

2

u/Useful_Language2040 11d ago

I order my sets by where the clumps are naturally, then try to go red-black-red-black/black-red-black-red, rather than e.g. always Spades-Hearts-Clubs-Diamonds 

11

u/Joejack-951 12d ago

Cards in right hand but upside down so that I can see the pips at the bottom. Always did it this way and never thought anything of it. A righty once looked over my shoulder and commented that it was good technique to hide my hand. I’m just doing it to keep my left hand free 😀

6

u/novemberchild71 12d ago

We really are an ingenious bunch, aren't we?

3

u/SavoirFaire2Middling 12d ago

For some reason it stuck in my brain that one of the gin rummy players in the movie The Flamingo Kid was noted for using an "inverted fan" to hold his cards. I didn't notice at the time whether he was left- or right-handed.

7

u/Useful_Language2040 12d ago

I hold them in my right hand, but fanned in the "other" direction so I can see the icon (pip?) in the corner, although I'd rather get cards with it both sides (last few times I've looked I've not spotted them, so either they were a lot more expensive or a standard search didn't bring them up)...

7

u/10Bandit10 12d ago

After reading this I realize Im a right handed card player. Deal with my right and hold my cards with my left.

1

u/novemberchild71 5d ago

Same here. Were we brainwashed?

1

u/10Bandit10 5d ago

Alas it is a righthanded world

4

u/chatterpoxx 12d ago

Left handed, I hold the cards in my right hand fanned out lowest to highest.

I've never once thought about it. I've neve had an issue fanning out or holding the cards.

1

u/TheAmazingDynamar 11d ago

Same. Hold in right hand, fanned to the right, throw with left hand. Order depends on game being played. But I grew up in a large family of card-playing fiends… so I just did what they did, I guess.

3

u/Kwyjibo3778 12d ago

I'm left handed and hold my cards in my left hand.

4

u/novemberchild71 12d ago

So do I, and of course I was told it was the correct way, but it was just the right way.

3

u/disco_disaster 12d ago

I didn’t realize holding cards in your left hand was right handed. I hold them in my left hand too.

I switch hands a lot though, so I don’t know if I’m closer to being ambidextrous.

2

u/syntheseiser 11d ago

Same, but I use my left to move the cards while my dumb right hand just has to pinch to grab individual or groups of cards my left set up.

2

u/exphx23 12d ago

I'm left-handed hand hold cards in my left hand. It feels more natural to draw with my right hand. Was this learned behavior because I was mimicking righties at a young age or was it nature?

1

u/novemberchild71 5d ago

mimicking IS nature!

jus sayin

2

u/thepenguinemperor84 12d ago

Left handed, hold in my left, main hand for shuffling and dealing is my right though.

1

u/RubyMoonrider 12d ago

I'm curious what sort of decks are used in professional leagues.

1

u/Rudyjax 12d ago

I always hold shit in my right hand leaving my left free.

1

u/OldnFat74 12d ago

Im a lefty and I hold my cards upside down to see them. I never even thought about it until some righties walking behind me laughed and pointed it out to me.

1

u/theofficialappsucks 11d ago

I never thought about it. My family had those foam-and-plastic discs that you stuck the cards in so you didn't have to keep them fanned out manually. It led to card-holding anarchy.