Some believe that the King of Spades signifies the Biblical King David. Interestingly, confederate soldier Robert E. In modern card decks, the King of Diamonds appears to be the only one of the Kings holding an axe – and this has earned him the name of the Axe-Man (sometimes the Man with the Axe instead). Sometimes, the King of Hearts is identified with Charlemagne.Īnd if you noticed anything about his moustache, his lack thereof is also attributed by many to a printing error. There are many stories about why, but the most common one seems to be due to a misprint: originally, he was holding an axe, but the printing errors eradicated part of the axe, making it look like the sword was straight through. Of course, it might have something to do with the fact that he is the only royal in the deck who appears to be killing himself – horribly, and with swords. The King of Hearts is sometimes also referred to as The Suicide King. There’s the Suicide King, the Axe-Man and the notorious Ace of Spades – and, anyone heard of the Beer Card? Here’s a little delve into some cool card superstitions. This has given us enough time to come up with sayings and nicknames for practically every card in the deck. The Suicide King and Other Card Nicknames Playing cards have a rich history spanning hundreds of years.

Poker cards king of spades