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1[[quoteright:186:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikovadama.png]]
2%% [[caption-width-right:186:some caption text]]
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4A brilliant short-story about a card gambler, by the Russian poet and writer Creator/AlexanderPushkin.
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6The story tells of Hermann, an ethnic German officer in the Imperial Russian Army, who has never participated at the gambling tables despite living off a decent sum of money. However, when he hears from an acquaintance the story of a Countess who somehow won back the fortune she lost at a faro (a gambling card game) in France with the secret of the three winning cards learned from the notorious [[UsefulNotes/TheCountOfStGermain Count of St. Germain]], he takes an immediate interest.
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8Obsessed with gaining the secret for himself, Hermann plots out a way to get access to the Countess through her ward Lizaveta. When he does reach and accost the Countess, demanding her secret, things don't go to plan when fright kills her. But days later, after her funeral, he is visited by her ghost who tells him the secret three cards - three, seven and ace - and tells him to play once each night on the condition he marry Lizaveta.
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10Armed with the knowledge, Hermann takes his chance at the gambling table, where his success or failure will be decided by the three cards...
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12It has been adapted into opera and films, most notably the 1949 British film by Thorold Dickinson, starring Anton Walbrook.
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14!! Tropes provided by ''The Queen of Spades'':
15* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Countess *** suffers a heart attack when Hermann points a gun to scare her.]]
16* AllOrNothing: Hermann places high bets, succeeding twice. But on the third round...
17* AssholeVictim: Countess was no criminal, but she was a thoroughly unpleasant person and a petty tyrant over her ward and companion Lizaveta, whose life she was making a living hell with her incessant contradictory demands and unfair complaints.
18* DrivenToMadness: [[spoiler: Hermann]] loses all his money from the gambling and completely loses his mind as a result.
19* DrowningMySorrows: Hermann does this after the Countess's funeral in an attempt to rid himself of the guilt over what he'd done.
20* EarnYourHappyEnding: Lizaveta finally gets something good come her way when she marries the son of the Countess's former steward.
21* GhostlyGlide: The countess's ghost does this when she appears before Hermann.
22* GoldDigger: Hermann considers seducing the Countess to learn the three cards' secret. He only decides not to do it because it will take too long, and she is ''eighty-seven'' and might die at any moment, so he focuses on an easier target in Lizaveta.
23* IWasJustJoking: Countess *** tried to use this to wave off Hermann's claims about her secret. It didn't work.
24* KarmicTwistEnding: [[spoiler: It seems like Hermann is doing well with his combination, as he wins everything when he first goes for three, and then the seven, just as the formula told to him by the countess suggested. When it comes for the final showdown, however, he expected to get an ace, in accordance with the formula, and so bet everything. However, he somehow makes a fatal mistake and bets on the titular Queen of Spades instead, and goes completely broke]].
25* MadnessMantra: At the end, [[spoiler: Hermann is driven into utter madness, and all he can mumble is "Three, seven, ace! Three, seven — queen!"]]
26* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Did Herman choose the wrong card himself? Or was he (or the card) influenced by supernatural forces?
27* RuleOfThree: According to rumors about the Countess, she won her wealth via the use of three specific cards.
28* SpellMyNameWithABlank: The old countess is usually referred to as ***. Only once does Tomsky mention her first name (Anna Fedotovna).
29* UnfinishedBusiness: The countess wasn't allowed to move on until she told Hermann the secret of the winning cards.
30* VillainProtagonist: Hermann deliberately tricks Lizaveta into falling in love with him and he never truly cares for her feelings. His only motive is to gain the mysterious magical combination of cards that always wins.
31* ViewersAreGeniuses: Aside from tons of obscure gambling-related slang, it helps a lot to know the specific rules of the game Herman is playing - namely that he places his betting card on the table backside up, to ensure the dealer doesn't cheat. Herman ''thinks'' that he has placed an Ace, as per the magical formula, and an Ace is indeed dealt to his stack (while the Queen of Spades goes to the dealer's stack), meaning he's ''won'', but when he flips his card, it turns out to be the Queen - somehow, he himself chose the wrong card.
32* WeaponForIntimidation: Hermann attempts to force information out of Countess *** by holding a gun to intimidate her. It doesn't work. [[spoiler: She ends up suffering a heart attack and dying without telling him anything.]]
33* YouMonster: Lizaveta calls Hermann this once she realized he only corresponded with her in order to get to the countess.

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