Peg works for playing cards

Playing card peg words are constructed from a consonant representing the suit and a consonant representing the card value, connected by the vowel "a." The numerical value of the tens is zero, for convenience. There are exceptions for the royals. The pegs for the jacks are the suit names: club, heart, spade, diamond.

The consonants for the suits are C, H, S, and D. Mnemonic: "chased."

Whether the "a" is long or short varies by suit. Clubs, generally short. Hearts, generally short. Spades, generally long. Diamonds: generally long. Mnemonic: "The Cat in the Hat Saved the Day."

Here's the list:

Clubs

CA = cat
C2 = can
C3 = cameo
C4 = car
C5 = Cal (Coolidge, California)
C6 = cash
C7 = caca
C8 = caff (cafe, cafeteria)
C9 = cap (baseball cap, redcap)
C10 = Cass (Elliot of the Mamas and Papas)
CJ = club
CQ = cream
CK = king

HA = hat (of Cat in the Hat)
H2 = Han (Chinese; Chou Enlai)
H3 = ham (pig)
H4 = hare
H5 = hail
H6 = hash
H7 = hag (witch)
H8 = half (grapefruit)
H9 = Hap (smiling Gen. Hap Arnold)
H10 = haze (note long "a"; exception to rule)
HJ = heart
HQ = queen
HK = hinge (exception)

Spades

SA = sate (a happy, sated Buddha)
S2 = sane (Sigmund Freud)
S3 = same (Siamese twins)
S4 = Sayre (Dorothy Sayre typing with glasses on)
S5 = sail
S6 = sage (tumbleweed)
S7 = saki (rice wine; note short "a"; exception)
S8 = safe
S9 = sabe (= Kemo Sabe = Lone Ranger; exception to long "a" rule)
S10 = sase (self-addressed stamped envelope)
SJ = spade
SQ = steam (exception)
SK = sing (Elvis; exception)

Diamonds

DA = date (fruit)
D2 = Dane (Hamlet - Olivier?)
D3 = dame
D4 = dairy
D5 = Dale (Evans)
D6 = Daitch (grocery)
D7 = dago
D8 = Dave
D9 = dabe (a painter; made-up word)
D10 = daisy
DJ = diamond
DQ = dream (sleeper; exception)
DK = drink (golden goblet)