Remembering Playing Cards

The Phonetic Mnemonic System can be used to memorize playing cards. This can be a helpful advantage when playing a game of cards such as poker or blackjack because you'll be able to remember all the cards that have been played. It can be difficult to remember the cards as-is but by assigning a keyword to each card, you can make them more memorable. Keywords can be assigned to playing cards in the following way:

The first letter of the keyword should match the first letter in the suit (Hearts=H, Spades=S, Clubs=C, Diamonds=D). Then, use the phonetic sound associated with the value of that card to form the word. For example, we know that in the Phonetic Mnemonic System, the 'n' sound is assigned to the number 2, so the 2 of hearts could be represented with the word 'hen.' Likewise, the 8 of clubs could be "calf" or "cave." For 10, use the phonetic sound for 0 (10 of diamonds = dice). For the cards higher than 10, we use the double-digit value (J=11, Q=12, K=13). For example: King of Spades = Stem.

Now, if you want to remember that a player just played the 9 of clubs and the 4 of hearts, just visualize a 'cop' with really long 'hair.'