Funny Feeling Party Game

How to Memorize Cards with Rhymes

Memorizing Cards Quickly and Easily with Rhymes

This is an easy way to memorize a deck of cards that combines three methods:

  • The Person Action Object (PAO) system
  • The Memory Palace, used to store memories in a specific order
  • Rhyming Numbers - an advanced application of an old fashioned way to memorize numbers.
     
Memorizing cards
Remembering cards with rhymes

How it works is that each card is assigned three attributes,a Person, an Action and an Object, with the three being connected together, i.e. the person is performing the action on the object.

This is a quick method to memorize cards and is great if you want to remember cards as you play a game and want something you can put into practice immediately.  If you have more time to invest and want to remember a complete deck of cards, then a similar version that uses the Major System, may be better suited for you as this can create more vivid images which helps make them easier to remember.

This system combines words that start with a consonant in the names of the suit (plus V & W for Hearts and K for Clubs) with a rhyme of the number, so words begin with:

  • Hearts = H, R, T, V, W
  • Clubs = C, L, B, K
  • Diamonds = D, M, N
  • Spades = S, P

Then rhyme with e.g. One, Two, Three, etc.  A couple of exceptions, 7's rhyme with "Sept" which is the French for 7, pronounced "Set" and some words end in an "er" sound, which is ignored.

There are 3 variants for each card - the Person, Action and Object, as explained underneath the table.

1st

HEARTS
H, R, T, V, W

CLUBS
C, L, B, K

DIAMONDS
D, M, N

SPADES
S, P

1 Ace of hearts

Huns
Run
Tonne

Ace of clubs

Crone
Clone
Cone

Ace of diamonds

Nun
Done
Dungeon

Ace of Spades

Son
Stun
Sun

2 Hearts

Who
Rue
View

Clubs

Cuckoo
Chew
Clue

Diamonds

Moo
Drew
Do

Spades

Shrew
Screw
Shoe

3 Hearts

He
Tea
Tree

Clubs

Bee
Key
Coffee

Diamonds

Me
Devotee
Degree

Spades

She
Ski
Sea

4 Hearts

Thor
Roar
War

Clubs

Boar
Bore
Claw

Diamonds

Moore (Roger)
More
Door

Spades

Poor
Snore
Store

5 Hearts

Wife
Revive
Hive

Clubs

Clive
Connive
Live

Diamonds

Driver
Deprive
Dive

Spades

Operative
Survive
Sex-drive

6 Hearts

Hicks (Aliens)
Ticks
Tricks

Clubs

Catholics
Licks
Bricks

Diamonds

Dicks
Nicks
Mix

Spades

Pigs
Sicks
Sticks

7 Hearts

Vet
Wet
Tablet

Clubs

Bennet (Heroes)
Bet
Carpet

Diamonds

Debtor
Met
Net

Spades

Poet
Set
Pet

8 Hearts

Tate
Hate
Rate

Clubs

Kate
Late
Bait

Diamonds

Mate
Debate
Date

Spades

Senate
Skate
Plate

9 Hearts

Valentine
Whine
Wine

Clubs

Caroline
Line
Liner

Diamonds

Divine
Dine
Design

Spades

Swine
Sign
Shrine

10 Hearts

Hen
Weaken
Tenner

Clubs

Ken
Christen
Comedienne

Diamonds

Men
Dampen
Den

Spades

Seamen
Pen
Siren

J How to remember the Jack of Hearts

Hacker
Hack
Track

Memorizing the Jack of Clubs

Backer
Crack
Back

Memorizing a deck of cards

Maker
Make
Mac

Major System for cards

Pack
Smack
Sack

Q Person, Action and Object System

Tween
Has-been
Tambourine

PAO memory technique

Constantine
Clean
Canteen

Remembering a deck of cardsDrag queen
Mean
Mung bean

How to memorize playing cards

Sardine
Preen
Screen

K Hearts

Viking
Ring
Wing

Clubs

King
Cling
Clothing

Diamonds

Dorking
Ding
Ming

Spades

Singer
Sting
Swing

 

Memorizing the Joker playing card

The Joker
Jokes with
Clowns

To help remember the Person, Action and Object associated with each card, read through the above table and visualise each scene with as many sensory pereceptions as you can and full movement.  How does it look, sound and feel?  Does it have a taste?  Visualise each card in the deck with the associated person, action and object.

 

Memorizing cards 3 at a time

If you've got a deck of cards in front of you then choose 3 cards at random.  If not, just pick 3 cards at random by pointing to the table above.  The clever part of the Person, Action, Object method is that you then visualize a different combination based on the cards chosen.  Here are 2 examples with 3 cards each:

Major System for cards PAO memory techniqueHeartsPack Clean Wine

Imagine a pack of wolves howling as they clean a bottle of wine.  Smell the disinfectant and wine.

 

HeartsSpadesClubsVet Sign Coffe

Imagine a vet signing a coffee machine on a vet's table. Picture the hand movement and smell the coffee.

 

Once you've memorized the image, converting it back to the three cards is simple, for example: Pack Clean Wine

  • Pack - P = Spades and it rhymes with Jack, so it's the Jack of Spades
  • Clean - C = Clubs and it rhymes with Queen, so it's the Queen of Clubs
  • Wine - W = Hearts and it rhymes with Nine, so it's the Nine of Hearts

To memorize all the cards in the deck including both Jokers you have to remember 18 images.  Make them as vivid as possible, with movement and use all the senses.  Rude, ridiculous images work best.

Using a Memory Palace

Montpellier memory palaceEach of the 3 playing cards will always be stored in the order of Person, Action, Object (PAO).  To remember a long string of cards it works best to use a Memory Palace.

A Memory Palace doesn't have to be an actual palace, it can be a room in a house, a route you travel on a regular basis, an apartment or house you know well, or any physical location that you know intimately.

Start at an obvious starting point in the location (for example a post box on the end of a drive) and imagine the first scene taking place there - in this case a pack of wolves cleaning a bottle of wine.  Perhaps the wolves are resting precariously on top of the post box, or perhaps when you open the post box, you see all the wolves squeezed in there.  This makes it easier to remember than if they're simply standing next to it.

Go to the next location in your journey, for example the front door.  This has been ripped off its hinges and is now being used as a vet's table by the vet to sign all that coffee.  You duck under the table and past the vet's legs and all those spilled coffee beans to enter the house.  Putting yourself in the picture like this also makes it more memorable.

Your Memory Palace will need at least 18 distinct locations in it, ideally connected in an obvious way (locations on a journey, points on the edges of a room, so the order is obvious, etc.)  If you have a deck of cards with 2 Jokers to memorize, you'll need to pair 3 cards with each location.