PAO System Builder
Give every card a person, an action and an object. Three cards then become one scene, which is how a full deck compresses into eighteen images.
You can build and practise a deck below, but sign in to save it.
Sign in to save decks.
One row per item: card, person, action, object.
0 of 52 cards filled52 left
♠Spades0/13
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♥Hearts0/13
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♦Diamonds0/13
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♣Clubs0/13
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How to use the PAO system builder
In a PAO (Person-Action-Object) system, every playing card gets a person, an action and an object. When memorizing, you take three cards at a time: the first card's person, the second card's action and the third card's object make one scene. That turns a 52-card deck into 18 scenes instead of 52 separate images.
- Give each card a person, then an action and an object that belong to that person, so all three come back together.
- Pick people you can picture instantly: friends, family, celebrities or characters, each with a signature action and object.
- Check the Scenes tab to see how your cards combine in threes, and change any that make a weak scene.
- Drill your deck in the Practice tab: it shows cards in random order, you answer, then check yourself against what you wrote.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the PAO builder free?
- Yes. You can build and drill a deck without an account. Signing in lets you save named decks and come back to them.
- Do I need all 52 cards before I start?
- No. Scenes and Practice use whichever cards you've filled in, so you can build the deck one suit at a time.
- PAO or a simpler one-image-per-card system?
- One image per card is easier to set up, but PAO needs a third as many scenes per deck, which is why many of the fastest Speed Cards athletes use it or a variation of it.
- Can I use PAO for numbers too?
- Yes, athletes often build a separate 00–99 PAO list for numbers. This tool covers the 52 cards; for numbers, start with the Major System generator.
Read the PAO system guide for worked examples, then test your deck in Speed Cards. For numbers, use the Major System generator.