Most gamblers , when they enter a casino and sit down at a table to start playing, do not know that each of the cards they will deal with during the game has a specific meaning, handed down orally from generation to generation. generation. Some of these legends, linked to the suit they belong to and to the number shown on the card, are particularly interesting and deserve to be told even to those approaching this world full of surprises for the first time.

One of the playing cards with the most interesting history of all can be considered the ace of spades . Its meaning is linked to the origin of its suit, since the spades, in the French cards, correspond to the suit of the swords in the Neapolitan cards: in fact, the spades are poled weapons with a metal tip that can take different shapes.

The shape of the symbol represented on the French black-suited cards, in fact, represents a sort of stylized spear, formed by a sharp point and supported by a small shaft for the handle. The spade is therefore an instrument of death, to which is added the black color of the cards of this suit: a nefarious combination which in cartomancy is often connected to the concepts of pain, suffering, sorrow, violence (not necessarily physical), the dramatic end of something (for example a love affair) and, precisely, death.

For this reason the ace of spades, the most representative card among those of this suit, is called the card of death . Yet, cartomancy enthusiasts know well that the bloody meaning of this card can be completely reversed based on the direction in which the spade is turned: if the tip comes out facing downwards, in fact, the meaning to be attributed to the card is diametrically opposite to the concepts of death and suffering, indicating on the contrary something that refers to life, a birth or the beginning of a love affair.

Talking about the ace of spades as a nefarious card, connected exclusively to bad luck, therefore, is not entirely correct, but can even lead players to misunderstand its meaning. Anyone who does not understand cartomancy, however, rarely knows the meaning of the cards he has in his hands and is only interested in the value they have for the game in which he is participating.

From this point of view, we know well that the ace of spades, as well as the other aces, have a rather important value in most casino games : a value that immediately makes us forget the possible non-positive meanings to which the card refers . Consider, for example, poker, where the ace represents the highest single card in the whole deck if the jokers are excluded, or blackjack , where the ace can take on the double value of 1 or 11, putting the player in the advantageous position. condition of being able to choose the most convenient score.

Finally, we certainly cannot forget the famous game of the ace takes all , in which drawing an ace of spades can make the difference between a victory and a defeat. Despite its gloomy transversal meanings, therefore, it can be said that in gambling the ace of spades is anything but a negative card, but must rather be understood as a possible source of wealth and luck.