In standard poker a Royal Flush (A-K-Q-J-10 of one suit) cannot be beaten. Even if you introduce suit ranking, the Royal Flush in the highest suit is unbeatable. In some regions, it is considered unsatisfactory to have any hand that is guaranteed to be unbeaten - there should always be a risk. There are several solutions to this. Poker hands from highest to lowest 1. Royal flush A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit. FLUSH: A poker hand consisting of five cards of the same suit. FOLD: To throw a hand away and relinquish all interest in a pot. FOURTH STREET: The second upcard in seven-card stud or the first boardcard after the flop in holdem (also called the turn card). Suit variables will not bind to any suits listed in a range. For instance, 'ssxx' means two spades and two cards of some other suit - the 'x' will not assume the value of spades. Similarly, rank variables will not bind to any ranks listed in a range. For instance, 'AARR' means aces with another pair - it does not include four aces.
In our guide, we will tell you whether you can use tarot cards to play poker. If so, are there some special rules? Do you have to use all the cards or just some of them? Are the cards mutually convertible? These are just some of the questions we intend on answering in our article, along with a suggestion which cards to use.
Tarot decks are predecessors of modern French suit decks, so you can easily play poker with a tarot deck. The game becomes identical if you remove the major arcana cards from your tarot deck.
Most people know that a standard poker deck has 52 cards, or 54 if you include the two Jokers. The cards are divided into four suits of 13 cards based on the French tradition, them being – clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥), and spades (♠). Each suit contains an Ace, a King, a Queen, and a Jack, along with numbered cards starting with two and ending with ten.
This is the most common deck used today, but it's certainly not the only one. Have you ever wondered whether you can use tarot cards to play poker? Keep reading to find out!
Table of ContentsCan you play poker with tarot cards?
Most people don't know that tarot cards were actually created as playing cards, with the first documented decks appearing around the middle of the 15th century. The tradition of card games in Europe started around the 14th century and was probably imported from Egypt.These cards evolved and were, as you well know, eventually replaced by the French suit deck, today being used mostly in different esoteric practices.
Although poker didn't exist in medieval Europe, the standard tarot deck is not that different from a modern poker deck. A standard tarot deck does have 78 cards, but if you remove all the Major Arcana cards, you're left with a total of 56 cards, which completely correspond to a modern poker deck, with the addition of a knight card for each suit.
The rest is completely identical, with the tarot suits corresponding the modern ones like this:
You can even remove the additional knight cards if you want to play a completely identical version of poker, but it's unnecessary as it doesn't really change much.
Poker Suit Precedence Against
As for the full, 78-card deck, which you can also use, but then you'll be playing a slightly modified version of poker. Let us see what that is.
Arcane Poker: Playing poker with tarot cards
Playing poker with a full 78-card tarot deck is called arcana or tarot poker. Believe it or not, it's possible with only a small number of modifications to the general concepts of poker.The rules of the game remain the same, but you'll have to modify some basic concepts to successfully 'eliminate' the difference in the number of cards. Now let us see those adaptations.
The first thing you need to know is that the additional cards in the tarot deck are counted as three additional suits to your four basic suits (the minor arcana).
As we've already said, the minor arcana consists of four suits of 14 cards (the knight is included), but that doesn't change anything when translated to poker. These three additional suits do add something to the poll.
The remaining major arcana cards are divided into three suits, consisting of 0 and 21, 1 to 10, and 11 to 20. There is no precedence of suits, except that major always top minor suits.
Also, the order of cards in the minor arcana group remains unchanged, while the 'strength' of major arcana cards is determined by the second digit of the two-digit number of a card, with the zeros counting as 10s, ranging from 10 for The Fool, to ace for The World.
When explained like this, the whole concept of adapting major arcana cards for poker might seem a bit confusing, so we've prepared a table for you to see the exact values the cards:
The second new thing is that any reversed card beats the same card when upright. This is a new thing in arcana poker and stems from the general esoteric application of tarot cards. A reversed card will always beat an upright card, just as two reversed cards of any kind will beat two uprights card, but will lose to three upright cards. We think you're starting to grasp the concept.
A direct consequence of this addition is that when shuffling your deck, you always have to rotate half of the deck because the cards' position is determined based on how they were originally placed.
The third rule – which we've already mentioned – is that any hand with a major arcana always beats any combination hand with a minor arcana. Here, we have to stress out two things. Firstly, minor hands remain the same but aren't as powerful as in regular poker. Secondly, the order of major hands – although generally unchanged – is as follows (from best to worst): straight flush → five of a kind → four of a kind → full house → flush → straight → three of a kind → two pair → one pair → high card.
And this is how you play arcana poker. All other elements and rules remain unchanged, so you can freely apply what you already know from regular poker.
Poker Suit Precedence Rules
French tarot
Although not directly related to poker, we wanted to give you at least a brief peek into the most popular contemporary tarot card game.
Namely, poker was never meant to be played with tarot cards, and although the adaptation is relatively easy, that is just a mere coincidence.Some games were first played using tarot cards, and some are stilly played with them. One of them is French tarot, or jeu de tarot, a trick-taking strategy card game that uses the 78-card tarot deck. It is designed for three to five players but is usually played by four.
The goal is to combine cards and gain point with the player with most points winning the game. It is a very quick game, lasting from 5 to 10 minutes per round.
What are the best Tarot cards to play poker with?
Well, there is no general rule about the type of tarot deck you can use to play poker. Namely, any 78-card tarot deck will be of use. If you want a more authentic feel, try to find an old one or a replica of an old one, because tarot-based card games are really old.
As for us, we've tried out some decks and can freely recommend the Mystic Mondays tarot deck (Amazon), because of the quality of the cards and the illustrations, but also because it includes everything you need to have to play the game.
It is a very modern and innovative deck with creative illustrations. If you're looking for something different, yet with an authentic feel, this deck is the perfect pick for you, and it's available at a reasonable price.
Conclusion
And that's it for today. We have introduced you to the world of playing poker with tarot cards. If this sentence seems odd to you, remember that 600 years ago, everyone played card games using tarot cards.
Luckily enough, poker is adaptable to tarot cards, both if you want to play the original game (minor arcana + four knights) or the arcana version, which utilizes the full 78-card deck.
The arcana version has some slight modifications, but they aren't that big, and you'll easily adapt to the new rules. Also, if you grow fond of tarot cards, you can try the jeu de tarot, an exciting and fun tactical card game stemming from France. I hope you've enjoyed my article and see you next time!
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Generic Syntax Documentation
Extensive Examples
Generic Syntax Documentation
Games Supported
Generic Syntax is currently available for all games.
Generic Syntax may also be used to specify the board and dead cards.
Ranks and Suits
- The standard ranks are 'AKQJT98765432'.
- The standard suits are 'shdc'.
- Suit variables are 'wxyz'. See the examples below for how these work.
- All other letters not listed above are rank variables. 'R' for Rank, 'O' for Other rank, and 'N' for aNother rank are reasonable choices. See the examples below for how these work.
- '*' is the wildcard rank, and means 'any rank'.
- AsKhJd2c- a specific hand where all cards are known.
- AA- a hand with at least two aces in it.
- AxAyxy- double-suited Aces.
- sshh- a hand with two spades and two hearts.
- wxy- a hand with at least three suits.
- ****- a completely random hand. This can be written more simply as '*'.
- RRON- A hand with one pair and two non-paired side cards.
- RxRyOxOy- A double-suited hand with two pairs in it.
Percent of Hands
ProPokerTools has its own ranking of hands for omaha, omaha hi/lo, hold'em, five-card omaha, and five-card omaha hi/lo. Here are a few examples of how to generate ranges using these rankings:
- 15%- The top 15 percent of hands (full-ring)
- 5%-10%- Hands between the top 5 and top 10 percent of hands (full-ring)
- 1%-100%- All hands
The default rankings are for full-ring games. Also provided are rankings for 6-handed games. To specify the 6-handed rankings, simply add '6h' after the percentage sign:
- 15%6h- The top 15 percent of hands (6-handed)
- 5%-10%6h- Hands between the top 5 and top 10 percent of hands (6-handed)
Generic Syntax Documentation
Extensive Examples
Generic Syntax Documentation
Games Supported
Generic Syntax is currently available for all games.
Generic Syntax may also be used to specify the board and dead cards.
Ranks and Suits
- The standard ranks are 'AKQJT98765432'.
- The standard suits are 'shdc'.
- Suit variables are 'wxyz'. See the examples below for how these work.
- All other letters not listed above are rank variables. 'R' for Rank, 'O' for Other rank, and 'N' for aNother rank are reasonable choices. See the examples below for how these work.
- '*' is the wildcard rank, and means 'any rank'.
- AsKhJd2c- a specific hand where all cards are known.
- AA- a hand with at least two aces in it.
- AxAyxy- double-suited Aces.
- sshh- a hand with two spades and two hearts.
- wxy- a hand with at least three suits.
- ****- a completely random hand. This can be written more simply as '*'.
- RRON- A hand with one pair and two non-paired side cards.
- RxRyOxOy- A double-suited hand with two pairs in it.
Percent of Hands
ProPokerTools has its own ranking of hands for omaha, omaha hi/lo, hold'em, five-card omaha, and five-card omaha hi/lo. Here are a few examples of how to generate ranges using these rankings:
- 15%- The top 15 percent of hands (full-ring)
- 5%-10%- Hands between the top 5 and top 10 percent of hands (full-ring)
- 1%-100%- All hands
The default rankings are for full-ring games. Also provided are rankings for 6-handed games. To specify the 6-handed rankings, simply add '6h' after the percentage sign:
- 15%6h- The top 15 percent of hands (6-handed)
- 5%-10%6h- Hands between the top 5 and top 10 percent of hands (6-handed)
Text files containing the hand orderings can be downloaded below:
- Omaha Hi10-handed|6-handed|3-handed|vs random hand
- Omaha Hi/Lo10-handed|6-handed|3-handed|vs random hand
- Hold'em10-handed|6-handed|3-handed|vs random hand|equity squared
- Five Card Omaha9-handed|6-handed|vs random hand
- Five Card Omaha Hi/Lo9-handed|6-handed|vs random hand
Combining Ranges
There are three ways to combine multiple ranges.
- Use ',' (read as 'or') to get the union of two ranges. For instance, in hold'em, 'JJ, AK' means 'Jacks OR Ace-King.'
- Use ':' (read as 'and') to get the intersection of two ranges. For instance, in hold'em, 'xx:15%' means 'hands that are suited AND in the top 15% of hands.'
- Use '!' (read as 'not') to get the difference of two ranges. For instance, in omaha, 'AA!AAA' means 'hands with two aces NOT three aces.'
Rank Spans
Rank spans allow you to specify cards that vary from a start rank to an end rank. This is easier explained with a few omaha hand examples:
- KQJT-T987- Equivalent toKQJT,QJT9,JT98,T987
- AAJT-AA87- Equivalent toAAJT,AAT9,AA98,AA87
- [A-Q][J-T]23- Equivalent toAJ23, AT23, KJ23, KT23, QJ23, QT23
- T8+- Equivalent toT8,J9,QT,KJ,AQ
- 664-- Equivalent to664,553,442
- TsJs-KsQs- Equivalent toTsJs,JsQs,QsKs
- [Kx-Jx]x- Equivalent toKxx, Qxx, Jxx
Rank and Suit Lists
Occasionally, you want to have a card match a particular set of ranks, suits, or cards. Here are some examples:
- [2,3,4]- Equivalent to2-4
- [2,4,6,8,T][3,5,7,9]- A hand with at least one odd and one even number card.
- [As,Ah,K]K- Equivalent toAsK, AhK, KK
Card Order
Card order is preserved for games where the order of cards is significant (stud, stud-8). Card order is ignored for other games (hold'em, omaha, omaha-8). Free slots opap. Card order is also preserved for flop game boards on the turn and river.
Card order in Stud GamesIn seven-card stud, the order of the cards as they come out is significant except in the case of the first two cards. For instance, 'KsJhTd' and 'KsTdJh' are NOT considered the same hand. 'KsJhTd' and 'JhKsTd' ARE considered the same hand, because the order of the first two cards is not considered significant. When combining ranges, card order is respected for cards on third-street and beyond. For instance, 'KQJ:xxy' implies a stud hand with a suited king-queen in the hole and an off-suit jack showing (an equivalent way to write it wold be 'KxQxJy').
Card Order in Flop GamesThere is no concept of card order in generic range syntax for Hold'em and Omaha. For instance, in Hold'em, 'KJ:hd' translates directly to 'a hand with a king and a jack AND a hand with a heart and a diamond'. As such, it is equivalent to 'KhJd, KdJh' - it is NOT the same as 'KhJd'. Similarly, in Omaha, if one wanted to specify a hand with ace-high flush potential in hearts single-suited, one would write 'Ahhxy' - it is NOT correct to write 'A:hhxy', as that would include hands such as 'AcJs7h6h'.
Card Order on Flop Game BoardsFor games with a shared board (hold'em, omaha, omaha-8), the order of the first three cards (the 'flop') is not significant, while the order of the last two cards (the 'turn' and 'river') is significant. For instance, the boards 'KKJ' and 'JKK' are equivalent - they translate to 'a flop with two kings and one jack'. However, the boards 'sshds' and 'sshsd' are NOT equivalent - the first board has a flop with two spades and one heart, a diamond on the turn, and a spade on the river, while the second board has the same flop but a SPADE on the turn and a DIAMOND on the river.
Card Counts
For games where the number of cards in a hand is always known (hold'em always has 2 cards, omaha always 4), ranges are always implicitly 'topped off' with wildcards to bring the number of cards up to the correct number. For instance, in omaha, 'AA' is equivalent to 'AA**', and 'KJ:xxy' is equivalent to 'KJ**:xxy*'.
For stud games, card counts can vary. For stud and stud-8, card counts are brought up to a minimum of three cards, but no other topping-off is performed. For example, 'KJ' is equivalent to 'KJ*' (because all hands are brought to a minimum size of three). In addition, sub-ranges can only be combined if they have the same number of cards listed. For instance, 'KJ84:xxyz' is legal, whereas 'KJ84:xx' is not.
No Pair Constraint
You can enclose any number of cards in a subrange in curly braces to indicate that there are no paired cards. For instance:
- A{A$W$W}- an omaha hand containg two aces and two non-paired wheel cards
- {$W$W 5s}- a stud hand with a wheel draw headed by the five of spades
Special Stud Syntax
The pipe '|' character can be used to delineate separate ranges for portions of a stud hand. For instance:
- AA-TT, ss | Ks-A big pair or two spades in the hole and a king of spades showing
- xx:[9-Q][9-Q] | RR | s, K-Suited medium-large cards in the hole and a pair showing on fourth street followed by a spade or a king on fifth street
Syntax Macros
Syntax macros are a useful way to avoid typing in the same string of characters over and over again. Macros begin with a $ and may contain numbers and letters. Macros may reference other macros (but no macro may reference itself). The Generic Syntax comes with the following built-in macros:Macro | Meaning | Games | Translates to | Example |
---|---|---|---|---|
$s | suited constraint | Hold'em | :xx | AK$s- ace-king suited |
$o | off-suit constraint | Hold'em | :xy | JT$o- jack-ten off-suit |
$B | big card | All | [A-J] | $B$B- two big cards |
$M | middle card | All | [T-7] | $M$M- two middle cards |
$Z | small card | All | [6-2] | $Z$Z- two small cards |
$L | low card | All | [A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] | $L$L$L$L!RRRR- four cards that can make a low (omaha hi/lo). |
$N | no-low card | All | [K-9] | $N$N$N$N- four cards that cannot make a low (omaha hi/lo). |
$F | face card | All | [K-J] | $F$F- two face cards |
$R | broadway card | All | [A-T] | $R$R- two broadway cards |
$W | wheel card | All | [A,2,3,4,5] | $W$W- two wheel cards |
$ds | double-suited constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | :xxyy | AA$ds- double-suited aces |
$ss | single-suited constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | :xxyz | AKQJ-9876$ss- single-suited medium-to-large rundown (hand has three suits) |
$np | no pairs constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | !RR | 15%$np- a hand in the top 15% with no paired cards |
$op | one pair constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | :RRON | 5%$op- a hand in the top 5% with exactly one pair (and no trips) |
$tp | two pair constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | :RROO | 20%tp- a hand in the top 20% with two pair |
$nt | no trips constraint | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | !RRR | 50%$nt- a hand in the top 50% with no trips (or quads) |
$0g | a zero-gap rundown | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | AKQJ- | $0g:10%- a zero-gap rundown in the top 10% of hands |
$1g | a one-gap rundown | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | (AKQT-, AKJT-, AQJT-) | $1g:20%- a one-gap rundown in the top 20% of hands |
$2g | a two-gap rundown | Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo | (AKQ9-, AKT9-, AJT9-) | $2g:ss- a two-gap rundown with two or more spades |
Weighted Ranges
Weighted ranges are supported for hold'em, omaha, and omaha hi/lo.
Weighted ranges allow you to specify the relative probabilities of hands appearing in a range. For instance, if we want a range where aces and kings are always played but queens are only played half the time, we could write 'AA-KK@100,QQ@50'.
Generic Syntax Odds and Ends
- Case ('A' vs. 'a') is ignored. Nevertheless, ranges are easier to read if ranks and rank variables are capitalized while suit variables are in lower case.
- Aces are always high. This means that 'A-5' is equivalent to '[A,K,Q,J,T,9,8,7,6,5]'. If you want wheel cards, you can use [A,2,3,4,5] instead.
- Suits and suit variables are attached to the rank on their left. If the symbol immediately to the left is not a rank (A, K, ..), rank variable (R, O,..), or wildcard rank (*), then a wildcard rank is implicit. For example, 'ss' is equivalent to '*s*s', 'KsTsxx' is equivalent to 'KsTs*x*x', and 'sJhhd' is equivalent to '*sJh*h*d'.
- Suit variables will not bind to any suits listed in a range. For instance, 'ssxx' means two spades and two cards of some other suit - the 'x' will not assume the value of spades. Similarly, rank variables will not bind to any ranks listed in a range. For instance, 'AARR' means aces with another pair - it does not include four aces.
- Parentheses ('(' and ')') have the highest precedence, and can be used for grouping. For instance, '(AK, JT):xx' is equivalent to 'AxKx, JxTx'.
- Constraints ('!' and ':') have the next highest precedence after parentheses, and are left-associative. For instance, 'AK,*:xx!RR' is equivalent to 'AK, (*:xx)!RR'
- Commas (',') have the lowest precedence.
Key Differences vs. Classic Syntax
Here are a few quick notes for those of you who have made extensive use of the classic ProPokerTools range of hands syntax:
Hold'em Players- At long last, hold'em range syntax gets as much expressive power as omaha. Hooray!
- 's' and 'o' no longer mean suited and off-suit. 's' always means spades. If you want a suited hand, you have two options - you can use suit variables ('AxKx' for ace-king suited), or the suited macro ('AK$s'). For offsuit, use 'AxKy' or 'AK$o'.
- If less than four cards are specified, wildcards ('*') are added for you. Where you used to write 'AA**', you can now write 'AA'. Where a random hand was '****', '*' will now suffice.
- '&' (the 'and' combinator) has been replaced with ':'. This is partly to avoid confusion with the old syntax, and partly because the colon just feels better.
- Operator precedence has been fixed to match users' expectations. In the old syntax, errors seemed almost more common than correct usage when combining '&', ',' and '!'. Constraints ('!' ('NOT') and ':' ('AND')) now have high precedence and are left associative. This means that 'AK:15%, JT:30%, KQ!Ks' means what it looks like - namely, 'ace-king in the top 15% or jack-ten in the top 30% or king-queen without the king of spades'. The most common case where you need parentheses in the generic syntax is when you apply a constraint to a number of subranges, such as '(AA, AK):xxyy' for 'aces or ace-king double suited'.
- Stud now has the same expressiveness as other games.
- There is no longer a limitation that upcards be specific cards (although there is a maximum number of hands allowed in any range).
Extensive Examples
Hold'em Examples
- AsKh- Ace of spades and king of hearts
- AA- A pair of aces
- AA,KK,AK- A pair of aces, a pair of kings, or ace-king
- AxJx- Ace-jack suited
- AJ$s- Another way to write ace-jack suited
- AxTy- Ace-ten off-suit
- AT$o- Another way to write ace-ten off-suit
- K*h- A hand with any king and another card that is a heart
- *- A random hand
- 15%- A hand in the top 15% of hands
- 30%-50%- A hand between the top 30 and top 50 percent of hands.
- K- A hand with a king in it
- ss- A hand with two spades in it
- JR- A hand with a jack and some other rank
- hx- A hand with one heart and one other suit
- TT-77- A medium pair
- Q+- A hand with a queen, king, or ace in it
- [T+][T+]- A hand with two broadway cards in it
- A-Q- A hand with an ace, a king, or a queen
- [A-J][2-5]- A hand with an A, K, Q, or J and a 2, 3, 4, or 5
- K[2s,Jc,T]- A hand with a king and a 2 of spades, jack of clubs, or ten
- J[T-]- A jack-high hand
- A!AK- A hand with an ace but not ace king
- 25%:xx- A hand in the top 25% of hands that is suited
- A:15%!AA- A hand with an ace in the top 15% of hands but not a pair of aces.
- 40%!AA-22- A hand in the top 40% of hands that is not a pair
- (A, ss):15%- An ace or a hand with two spades in the top 15% of hands
Omaha Examples
- AsKhJd2c- Ace of spades, king of hearts, jack of diamonds, and two of clubs
- AA- A hand with at least two aces
- AA,KK- A hand with at least two aces or two kings
- AxAyxy- Double-suited aces
- AA$ds- Another way to write double-suited aces
- AxAyxz- Single-suited aces
- AA$ss- Another way to write single-suited aces
- KJ*ss- Any king, any jack, and two other cards that are spades
- *- A random hand
- 15%- A hand in the top 15% of hands
- 30%-50%- A hand between the top 30 and top 50 percent of hands.
- K- A hand with a king in it
- ss- A hand with two spades in it
- JRON- A hand with a jack and three other ranks
- RROO- A hand with two pairs in it
- hhxx- A hand with two hearts and two of some other suit
- TT-77- A hand with at least two tens, nines, eights, or sevens in it
- Q+- A hand with at least one queen, king, or ace
- 9876-- A medium to small rundown
- A-Q- A hand with an ace, a king, or a queen
- [A-J][2-5]33- A hand with an A, K, Q, or J and a 2, 3, 4, or 5 and two threes
- K[2s,Jc,T]- A hand with a king and a 2 of spades, jack of clubs, or ten
- J[T-][T-][T-]- A jack-high hand
- *$np- A hand with no paired cards
- *$nt- A hand with no trips
- AA!AAA- A hand with exactly two aces
- AA$nt- Another way to write a hand with exactly two aces
- AARR- A hand with two aces and another pair (but not four aces)
- {$L$L$L$L}- Four non-paired cards that can make a lo
- A!K- A hand with an ace but no king
- 25%:wxyz- A hand in the top 25% of hands that is monotone
- A:15%!AA- A hand with an ace in the top 15% of hands but not a pair of aces.
- 40%!RR- A hand in the top 40% of hands with no paired cards
- ([T+][T+][T+], ss):15%- At least three big cards or a hand with two spades in the top 15% of hands
- (Ax[2x-5x], 2x3x-2x5x, 3x4x-3x5x, 4x5x):30%-50%- A hand with at least two suited wheel cards in the top 30 to 50 percent of hands
Stud Examples
- AsKh2c8h9d- Ace of spades and king of hearts in the hole, followed by the two of clubs, eight of hearts, and nine of diamonds.
- AAK- Aces in the hole and a king up.
- AA-JJ, dd | 8d- A big pair or two diamonds in the hole and the eight of diamonds up
- xxxx- A four-flush
- x x Rx x R- Flush draw that paired the door-card on fifth street.
- {$L$L 8s6c}- A low draw on fourth street with the eight of spades and six of clubs showing
Board Examples
- AsKdJh- A flop with the ace of spades, the king of diamonds, and the jack of hearts
- A**!AA*- A flop with exactly one ace
- ***![T+]**- A flop with no card ten or higher
- RON- A flop with no pairs
- RRO- A flop with one pair
- 234+- A straight-friendly flop
- RONR- A board with no pairs on the flop that paired on the turn
- xyz- A rainbow flop
- xxx- A monotone flop
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