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Home Page
> Classified Index >
Trick Taking Games > Whist group > Whist
(classic)

Whist

Types of Whist

Classic Whist
Rules

Variations

Other Whist WWW
Sites

Types of Whist

This page describes the classic game of Whist which was played widely in the
18th and 19th centuries. Whist was derived from the older game Ruff and Honours, and in the
twentieth century, bridge
has displaced whist as the most popular card game internationally among serious
card players. Nevertheless, whist continues to be played in Britain, often in
local tournaments called "whist drives".

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:

Knockout whist (a
children's game in which a player who wins no trick is eliminated)

Solo whist
(played in Britain; a game where individuals can bid to win 5, 9 or 13 tricks
or to lose every trick)

Whist (Wiezen) and
Suit Whist
(Kleurenwiezen) (Belgian games similar to Solo Whist, but more elaborate)

Bid whist (a
partnership game with bidding, played in the USA)

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)

Romanian whist (a
game in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will take
- similar to Oh Hell)

Israeli whist
(another game somewhat related to Oh Hell, in which one tries to bid the exact
number of tricks one will take)

German Whist (a
British two-player adaptation of Whist without bidding)

Danish Whist, which exists in two forms: one with fixed
partnerships, and one in which partners are chosen by calling an ace.

Whist Rules

The classic game of whist is a plain-trick game without bidding for 4 players
in fixed partnerships. Although the rules are extremely simple there is enormous
scope for scientific play, and in its heyday a large amount of literature about
how to play whist was written.

Players

There are four players in two fixed partnerships. Partners sit facing each
other. The game is played clockwise.

Cards

A standard 52 card pack is used. The cards in each suit rank from highest to
lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.

Deal

The cards are shuffled by the player to dealer's left and cut by the player
to dealer's right. The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time so that each
player has 13. The final card, which will belong to the dealer, is turned face
up to indicate which suit is trumps. The turned trump remains face up on the
table until it is dealer's turn to play to the first trick.

It is traditional to use two packs of cards. During each deal, the dealer's
partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right. The dealer for the
next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from the left and pass them
across to the right to be cut. Provided all the players understand and operate
it, this procedure saves time and helps to remember whose turn it is to deal, as
the spare pack of cards is always to the left of the next dealer.

Play

The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. Any card may be
led. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick.
Players must follow suit by playing a card of the same suit as the card led if
they can; a player with no card of the suit led may play any card. The trick is
won by the highest trump in it - or if it contains no trump, by the highest card
of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next.

Scoring

When all 13 tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1
point for each trick they won in excess of 6.

The partnership which first reaches 5 points wins the game. This will
normally take several deals.

Variations

Honours

Honours are the top four trumps - A K Q J. A partnership which between them
held all four honours in their hands score an extra 4 points, which they claim
at the end of the play. A side which held three of the four honours can claim 2
points for them. A team which at the start of the already has 4 points towards
the 5 required for game cannot score honours on that deal.

If on the same deal one side scores for tricks and the other side scores
honours, the tricks are scored first. That means that if both sides would have
reached 5 or more points, it is the side scoring for tricks that wins the game.

Although scoring honours was part of the traditional game, nowadays many
players do not count them. Scoring for honours introduces a larger luck element
into the game.

Determination of Trumps

Instead of determining trumps by facing the last card in the deal, an
alternative is to fix the trump suit in advance. In this case it is normal to go
through the trump suits in a fixed sequence - for the first deal hearts are
trumps, for the second deal diamonds, then spades, then clubs, then hearts
again, and so on. This method is commonly used in tournaments, such as whist
drives.

It is also possible to introduce no trumps into the sequence - so that every
fifth hand is played without trumps.

Scoring

The number of points required for game varies. In America a target of 7 was
customary. In Britain the game was 5 points up, but it was usual to play a
rubber which was the best of three games - that is, the winners were the first
side to win two games. There was also "Long Whist" in which game was 9 points.

When playing a tournament, it is inconvenient to have people at different
tables play varying numbers of deals before moving. Therefore it is usual to
play a fixed number of deals, rather than a game. Each player's score is the
total number of odd tricks (tricks above six) that their side has taken over the
deals played.

Other Whist WWW Sites

Doncaster
Whist Club is an active and friendly club that runs whist drives in various
formats four evenings per week.

You can download a freeware classic Whist program from Thanos Card Games.

DKM Software offers CardSharp, which plays Whist
and several other card games. As well as a free web version there is a
shareware desktop
version for Windows.

Chris Davidson has released a Whist
Portal through which Classic Whist can be played online against live
opponents.

Jean-François Bustarret's page Le Whist has rules in French.

The Dracis site offers a Java online
Whist game.

Games.com has an online Whist
game.

Home Page
> Classified Index >
Trick Taking Games > Whist group > Whist
(classic)

This
page is maintained by John McLeod (mailto:[email-masked]?subject=whist).

© John McLeod, 1995, 2004. Last updated: 28th December 2008

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