Everyone knows that bridge cards are smaller than poker cards. In general, bridge cards are about ¼ inch (or about 5 millimeters) thinner than poker cards. The question is why? A person could very easily play a game of poker with bridge cards and vice versa. And other card games like euchre, pitch, hearts and spades can be played with any deck size (a further question might be: why isn’t there a different size deck for each of these card games as well?)

Clearly, size doesn’t matter!

There are many different theories as to why these cards are a different size.

One of my favorite theories is a feminist theory: bridge is a women’s game and poker is a men’s game. Women have small, dainty hands, while men have large, burly hands, which is why bridge cards are smaller than poker cards. How can a petite woman handle cards as manly as poker cards? To free themselves from this oppression of playing cards, women should (1) encourage men to admit their femininity by playing bridge (2) encourage men to give up their masculinity by playing bridge card poker (3) start playing more poker, or (4) start playing with giant cards to show that women are not as good as men, but better!

Perhaps the question shouldn’t be “Why are bridge cards so small?” but “Why are poker cards so damn big?”

The Texas Theory: Texas is a big state, right? And Texas Hold ‘Em, perhaps the first game of poker, is named after this great state, right? Well, it makes sense that poker cards are as big as Texas!

· The American Theory: Americans are generally wider than the rest of the world, so it makes sense that their poker cards are too! (In many countries, the standard size deck is the size of a bridge.)

· Poker is a gambling game and there are some people who try to win by cheating. So, to discourage cheating, the poker cards are bigger, which makes playing hands harder (of course, at the same time, it’s a bit harder to hide larger cards).

The most likely reason bridge cards are narrower than poker cards:

In bridge, you generally have to have more cards in your hand: around 13 compared to just 5 in poker. It is easier to hold the smaller cards and keep them hidden. In poker, on the other hand, it’s easier to have the bigger cards, since you have so few to grab.

More information about the cards:

Bridge cards are generally preferred by magicians: because they are smaller, they are easier to handle for many different magic tricks and sleight of hand.

· Most licensed playing cards, such as a deck of Coca Cola cards, are the size of a poker.

· Jumbo chips are not cards larger than poker cards, but instead have large print in the corners to make the numbers easier to read.

· In many casino poker games, cards the size of a bridge are used!