Table insert gives a nil error

Question

I have the following function in my lua code. I am getting an error Attempt to call field 'insert' (a nil value)

I have above in main chunck

local cardDeck;
local suits = {"h","d","c","s"};

then in function

function createDeck()
    cardDeck = {};
    for i=1, 4 do
        for j=1, 13 do
            local tempCard = suits[i]..j;--PRINT SHOW VALID VALUE HERE i.e. "h1","d2" etc
                table.insert(cardDeck,tempCard); --THIS LINE IS ERROR
        end
    end
end

Answer 1

Are you sure you haven't defined table elsewhere in your program?

> table.insert({},1)
> table = {}
> table.insert({},1)
stdin:1: attempt to call field 'insert' (a nil value)
stack traceback:
    stdin:1: in main chunk
    [C]: ?