If you also take the cards modulo 13 for their face, this approach works.

4 and 13 are relatively prime, so each number between 1 and 52 can be uniquely represented by the function (x) -> (x%13, x%4).

Yes, obviously it's not a drop in replacement as the behavior is different, but it does the same thing, giving you a number from 0 to 3 based on the card number. Pairing it with i%13 works just fine.