Polish pattern cards comprise the four suits of Leaves (Wino), Hearts (Czerwień), Acorns (Żołądź) and Bells (Dzwonek) and five picture cards: the Ace or Deuce (Tuz), Ten (Kralka) or Banner, King (Król), Ober (Wyżnik) and Unter (Niżnik) and four pip cards: the Nine (Dziewiątka), Eight (Ósemka), Seven (Siódemka) and Six (Szóstka).
The first cards of this type were imported from Germany and appeared in Polish towns and cities as early as the 15th century.
[1] In the 16th century, playing card manufacture had begun at Lemberg, Breslau, Poznań, Olkusz and Kraków.
[1] According to Łukasz Gołębiowski, German-suited Polish cards were used to played, among others, the games of Kupiec,[a] Kasztelan, Wózek,[b] Skrzetułka, Drużbart, Pamfil, Chapanka, Tryszak, Mariasz, Piquet (Pikieta) and Cwik.
[1] Notable Polish cardmakers in the late 19th and 20th centuries include Willink of Warsaw, Pierswsza and Karpalit of Lvov, the Kraków Playing Card Factory and state-owned KZWP.