Today's 52-card deck preserves the four original French suits of centuries ago: clubs (&c), diamonds (&f), hearts (&e), and spades (&`). These graphic symbols, or pips,  bear little resemblance to the items they represent, but they were much easier to copy than more lavish motifs.

The four card suits in the international deck are hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. Spades and clubs are black cards, while hearts and diamonds are red cards.