whist - Versions of whist, Whist Rules

A non-gambling card game, normally played with four people in pairs. Each player receives 13 cards, and the object is to win more tricks than the opposing pair. Trumps are decided before each game, and at whist drives trumps are normally played in the following order; hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades. A round of ‘no trumps’ is also common.

Whist (a trick-taking game) is a classic card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries and was a development of an older game Ruff and Honours. Although the rules are extremely simple there is enormous scope for scientific play and since the only information known at the start of play is the player's thirteen cards the game is difficult to play well.

In its heyday a large amount of literature about how to play Whist was written. By the late 19th century an elaborate and rigid set of rules detailing the laws of the game, its etiquette and the techniques of play had been developed that took a large amount of study to master. In the early 20th century, Bridge, which shares many traits with Whist, displaced it as the most popular card game amongst serious card players. Nevertheless, Whist continues to be played in Britain, often in local tournaments called "whist drives".

Versions of whist

Nowadays there are many other games called Whist - the name has become attached to a wide variety of games based on classic Whist, but often with some kind of bidding added, for example:

Bid whist (a partnership game with bidding, played in the USA) Boston (played in 19th century Europe, favored by Count Rostov in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace) Call-ace whist in which the bidder chooses his partner by calling an ace is the national game of Denmark Catch the Ten (aka Scotch Whist) (uses only half the deck, 10 is most valuable Colour whist or Kleurwiezen (a Belgian game similar to Solo Whist, but more elaborate) German Whist (a British two-player adaptation of Whist without bidding) Hearts and Spades are also American versions of the game and can be found on Windows as simple fun games. Israeli whist (another game somewhat related to Oh Hell, in which one tries to bid the exact number of tricks one will take) Knock-out Whist, Trumps (UK) or Diminishing Whist (a game in which a player who wins no trick is eliminated) Minnesota whist (in which there are no trumps, and hands can be played to win tricks or to lose tricks - also the very similar game of Norwegian Whist) Oh Hell (players bid on exactly how many tricks they will take; going too high or too low is penalized) Romanian whist (a game in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will take - similar to Oh Hell) Solo whist (played in Britain; a game where individuals can bid to win 5, 9 or 13 tricks or to lose every trick) Tarneeb (played in the Arab world, a game in which the person who wins the bid picks the trump) Three-Handed "Widow" Whist (or Three-Handed Whist, an extra hand that is dealt just to the left of the dealer)

Whist Rules

A standard 52 card pack is used. Whist is played by four players, who play in two partnerships with the partners sitting opposite each other. Players cut or draw cards to determine partners with the two highest playing against the lowest two, who have seating rights. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick and must follow suit by playing a card of the suit led if they have one. A player with no card of the suit led may play any card either discarding or trumping. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is played in which case the highest trump wins.

Scoring

After all 13 tricks have been played, the side which won the most tricks scores 1 point for each odd trick, that is 1 point for each trick in excess of 6.

In Britain, Short Whist is usually played, where the first side to reach 5 points wins game, and the first side to win two games wins the rubber. There is also Long Whist played to 9 points and in the US game is usually 7 points.

Honours are points for game that are claimed at the end of play for holding the top four cards (A,K,Q,J) in the trump suit. Honours add nothing to a play of a hand, serving only as an element of luck that speeds up games, and they are often omitted these days. 3rd hand usually plays high, though play the lowest of touching honours. and men of the highest order of intellect have been known to take an apparently unaccountable delight in it, [...]"

Al Shockley and Jack Torrence play Whist during a flashback scene in Stephen King's The Shining. Edward Gorey made a mention of whist in his illustrated book The Glorious Nosebleed, the selection reading:

"They played whist distractedly." In Gone with the Wind Scarlett takes to playing Whist with carpetbaggers after marrying Rhett. John James Audubon mentions playing whist in his Missouri River journals