52 Plus Joker (52+J) is an American non-profit social organization focused on playing cards, founded in 1985 by Phil Bollhagen, Bob Harrison, and Lenny Schneir. The club has about 1,000 members.
In addition to hosting annual conventions, 52 Plus Joker publishes a quarterly newsletter called Clear The Decks, originally created by Bollhagen, and has released a monthly digital magazine called Card Culture since late 2014. The club also produces annual custom playing card decks sold exclusively to members.
52 Plus Joker merged with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club in 2018.
The club's founding president was Lenny Schneir. Tom Dawson previously served as president, as did Ray Hartz. the club's president is Lee Asher.
Annual conventions 52 Plus Joker has held conventions annually since 1987. +YearLocationNotes1987Cincinnati, OhioJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club1988Chicago, IllinoisJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club1989Indianapolis, IndianaJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club1990New Haven, Connecticut1991Cincinnati, OhioJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club1992Las Vegas, Nevada1993Kissimmee, Florida1994Arlington, Virginia1995Cincinnati, OhioJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club1996Las Vegas, Nevada1997Kansas City, Kansas1998Toronto, Canada1999Cincinnati, Ohio2000New Haven, ConnecticutJoint event with the International Playing-Card Society2001Albuquerque, New Mexico2002Atlanta, Georgia2003Wilmington, DelawareJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club2004Milwaukee, Wisconsin2005San Francisco, California2006Montreal, Canada2007Westborough, Massachusetts2008Las Vegas, Nevada2009Toronto, CanadaJoint event with the International Playing-Card Society2010New Orleans, Louisiana2011Denver, Colorado2012Erlanger, KentuckyJoint event with the Chicago Playing Card Collectors Club2013Las Vegas, Nevada2014Charleston, South Carolina2015Orlando, Florida2016Chicago, Illinois2017Erlanger, Kentucky2018Cleveland, Ohio2019Charlotte, North Carolina2020Virtual event due to COVID-192021Virtual event due to COVID-192022Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania2023Cleveland, Ohio2024Niagara Falls, New York2025Charlotte, North Carolina
References
See also International Playing-Card Society
External links Official website