Batons (suit)

Batons or clubs is one of the four suits of playing cards in the standard Latin deck along with the suits of cups, coins and swords. 'Batons' is the name usually given to the suit in Italian-suited cards where the symbols look like batons. 'Clubs' refers to the suit in Spanish-suited cards where the symbols look more like wooden clubs.

Before 1800, French cardmakers, who also made Spanish card games, called them cartes à bâtons. Symbol on Italian pattern cards: Symbol on Spanish pattern cards: Symbol on French Aluette (Spanish-)pattern cards:

Characteristics

The suit of batons is believed to have derived from Chinese money-suited cards' String of cash coins suit being misinterpreted as polo-sticks by the Muslims when the cards came into contact with the Islamic world. This misinterpretation as sticks is also the case for Mahjong's suit of Bamboo sticks. Since polo was an obscure sport in Europe, the sticks further developed into cudgels in Spain and batons in Italy.

The interpretation and arrangement of the pips helps to subdivide the Latin-suit systems:

Italian-suited: Intersecting batons

Spanish-suited: Non-intersecting cudgels (normally with exception of the Three of Clubs)

Portuguese-suited: Intersecting cudgels

In Spanish, the batons are called bastos; and in Italian, bastoni. In cartomancy and occultist circles, the suit of batons is usually called the suit of wands.

Portuguese-suited playing cards were traded to Japan in the mid-16th century which influenced the development of Karuta where the 48-card Komatsufuda, 75-card Unsun Karuta, and 40-card Kabufuda decks still maintain this suit.