Wild Card
In card games, a card that can substitute for any other card as designated by the holder. More broadly, a flexible stand-in or unpredictable element that can represent various possibilities.
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Origin
The term emerged in early 20th-century American card games, with first recorded use in the 1920s. The joker card, introduced to Euchre decks in the 1850s by Samuel Hart, became the prototype wild card. When transferred to Poker around 1875 (initially called "Mistigris"), the joker functioned as a flexible substitute, spawning the phrase "joker's wild" and eventually the broader term "wild card" to describe any unpredictable or versatile element.
Updated February 22, 2026