Whist Card Game

  1. How To Play Wisk Card
  2. Whist Card Game Set
  3. Bid Whist Card Game
  4. Whist Card Game 3 Players
  5. Bid Whist Online With Real People
  6. Whist Card Game/spades
Whist
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Solo Whist, sometimes known as English Solo or simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game for four players. Despite the name it is not related to Whist, but derives from an early form of Boston played in the Low Countries, whose direct ancestor, in turn, was the 17th-century Spanish game of Ombre. Its major distinctive feature is that one player often plays against the other three. Jungle Whist is a trick-taking card game. It is 100% free on any Android device. Challenge intelligent computer opponents to a classic game of whist. Lead with trump, avoid taking your partner’s tricks, and track cards as you bid your way to victory. Whist (Card game) 3; Refine. $5 - $10; $10 - $25; $25 - $50; Formats. Paperback; Hardcover; Whist (Card game) 1 - 7 of 7 results. Add to Wishlist. The Killing Table: An by Edgar Franklin. By Masque Publishing. Play the classic trick-taking card game. Lead with your strongest suit and work with your partner to get 2 points per hand. Your Gaming History. Whist is a simple trick taking game, played in pairs. The players sitting across from each other are a team and together they try to get as many tricks as possible.

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
David Parlett
Writer. Author of Oxford History of Board Games and A Dictionary of Card Games.

Whist, trick-taking card game developed in England. The English national card game has passed through many phases of development, being first recorded as trump (1529), then ruff, ruff and honours, whisk and swabbers, whisk, and finally whist in the 18th century. In the 19th century whist became the premier intellectual card game of the Western world, but bridge superseded it in this position by about 1900. Partnership whist, with four players in two partnerships, remains popular in Britain in the form of social and fund-raising events called whist drives.

Partnership whist

In the classic game each player received 13 cards from a 52-card deck ranking A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The last card dealt (to the dealer) was shown and established the trump suit. Eldest hand (player on dealer’s immediate left) led to the first trick, and the winner of each trick led to the next. Players followed suit if possible; otherwise, they could play any card. The trick was taken by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump if any were played. The side capturing the most tricks scored one point per “odd trick” (over and above six tricks). If either partnership held three or four of the “honours” (ace, king, queen, and jack in the trump suit), whether in one hand or between the two partners, they scored two or four points, respectively, unless this brought them to “game” (winning score), when honours were ignored. Game was five points (British) or seven points (American), and reaching it precluded the other side from scoring for honours. The winners counted a single stake or game point if the losers made three or four points, double if the losers made only one or two points, and triple for a whitewash (“shutout”). The first to win two games added two game points for the rubber.

As now played in Britain, honours are ignored, and no card is turned for trump. Instead, the trump suit cycles through hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs every four deals, or sometimes five deals with a no-trump turn. A predetermined number of deals are played, and the cumulative score determines the winner.

Solo whist

Solo whist, a nonpartnership game still popular in Britain, derives from whist de Gand (Ghent whist), a Belgian simplification of Boston whist.

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Four players each receive 13 cards in batches of four-four-four-one; the last card dealt to the dealer is turned faceup to establish a preferred trump suit. Each player in turn, starting with eldest hand, may bid or pass. Each bid must be higher than the last, and passing prevents a player from bidding again.

The bidding rises as follows:

  • 1. Proposal and acceptance (“prop and cop”). An offer to win at least eight tricks with the preferred suit as trump and in temporary alliance with whoever will accept the proposal. Bid by saying, “I propose,” or just “Prop.” Provided that no other bid has intervened, a subsequent player may accept the proposal by saying, “I accept,” or, traditionally, “Cop.”
  • 2. Solo. An offer to win at least five tricks with the preferred suit as trump.
  • 3. Misère. An offer to lose every trick, playing at no trump.
  • 4. Abundance (“a bundle”). An offer to win at least nine tricks with any trump suit of the bidder’s choice, as yet unspecified.
  • 5. Royal abundance. The same as abundance but with the preferred suit as trump.
  • 6. Misère ouverte (or spread misère). The same as misère but with one’s hand of cards spread faceup on the table after the first trick has been played and gathered in.
  • 7. Slam. An offer to win all 13 tricks at no trump but with the advantage of leading to the first trick.

If eldest proposes and no one accepts, eldest may (but need not) bid solo. If eldest passes and a subsequent player’s proposal is not overcalled, eldest may (but need not) accept the proposal. If all four players pass, the deal is annulled and passes to the left.

The last and highest bidder becomes the soloist in the stated contract. Dealer then takes the turned-up card into hand, and eldest leads to the first trick, or the soloist leads in the case of a slam. Play of tricks follows whist rules.

The soloist (or, in prop and cop, each partner) receives from or pays to each opponent in accordance with an agreed schedule, such as prop and cop 10, plus 2 per over- or undertrick; solo 10, plus 2 per over- or undertrick; misère 20; abundance 30, plus 3 per over- or undertrick; spread misère 40; and slam 60.

Some schools omit payments for over- or undertricks. Scores may be kept in writing. A game is any agreed number of deals divisible by four. There are many variations.

Play

How To Play Wisk Card

Bid whist

Bid whist is a lively partnership trick-taking game especially popular with African Americans. Four players each receive 12 cards from a 54-card pack that includes two jokers marked or otherwise differentiated as “big” and “little.” The remaining six cards go facedown as a “kitty.”

In high bids (“uptown”) cards rank A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2; in low bids (“downtown”) they rank A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K. In trump bids the top trumps are big joker, little joker, ace, and so on, downward to deuce (uptown) or king (downtown). In no-trump bids jokers are powerless and are normally discarded before play begins.

Each player in turn, starting with eldest, has one chance to bid. Each bid must be higher than the last. If the first three players pass, the dealer must bid. The lowest bid is three—a bid to take three “books” (tricks) more than six, or nine books total—with a trump suit not yet specified. A bare number represents an uptown bid. The next-lowest bid is three low, which is also a bid to capture nine books but with the downtown ranking of cards. This is beaten in turn by three no trump—whether high or low is not specified unless this bid wins. Thus, the bids from lowest to highest are three high, three low, three no trump, four high, four low, and so on. (Some variants rank high and low bids equal.)

If playing in a trump suit, the highest bidder announces trump, picks up the kitty (in most variants the declarer “sports,” or exposes, the kitty to all the players), and takes it into hand. If playing at no trump, the declarer announces high or low and takes the kitty into hand without showing it. In either case the declarer then makes any six discards facedown, and these count as the first of the partnership’s tricks. In some variants at no trump every player holding a joker must randomly swap it for a card from the facedown discards.

Declarer leads to the first of 12 tricks, played as in classic whist. At no trump a joker can never win a trick; it may be discarded only when its holder cannot follow suit, and, if one is led, the next card played establishes the suit to follow.

If successful, declarer’s side scores one point per book made above six. If not, the side loses one point per book contracted. (In some variations the opponents score one point for every book made above six.) All scores are doubled at no trump. The game ends when one side wins by reaching an agreed target (typically seven points) or loses by reaching minus the target score. Winning all 13 tricks is a “Boston” and scores 7 points (in some circles it is quadrupled, or 28 points), which is generally sufficient to win immediately.

With two jokers the lowest bid is sometimes four. Some play with only one joker and a five-card kitty. Some play without jokers and either a four-card kitty or none at all. In the latter case 13 tricks are played, and the lowest bid is one.

Quick Facts
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Definition

The Whist card game is a trick-taking card game of English origin, finding play since the early 18th century. Unlike other trick taking games, the Whist game is split into two phases.

How to Play Whist for Beginners?

Whist is a game designed for 2 or 4 players. Whist’s most classic form involves 4 players, but has since been superseded by the 2-player variant, which adds the multi-phase stages which rewards thinking ahead.

All you need to play Whist is the standard52-card Anglo American deck with Jokers removed. The following guide will befocused on the 2-player variation of Whist.

The Goal

In Whist, the aim is to win the most tricks in the 2nd phase. The player winning the most tricks will win the round. Before the game begins,players specify a point threshold. The player reaching the point thresholdfirst across multiple rounds wins the game.

Dealing

Before the game begins, a dealer isdetermined by card splitting. The player drawing the higher card will be thedealer.

Each player is dealt 13 cards, one at atime. The remaining 26 cards are set aside to form the draw pile. The top cardof the draw pile is flipped over, and the suit of the revealed card will be thetrump suit for the round.

Trick-taking in Whist

Trick-taking involves each player plays acard. The player who leads the trick determines the leading suit, and theopponent must follow-suit if possible. Note that this rule is different fromother trick-taking card games, where players can choose to forfeit rounds bynot following suit even if they can.

If both players follow suit, the playerplaying the highest-ranked card will win the trick. Players can also overridesuits by playing the trump suit, which outranks other cards.

The player winning the trick will lead thenext trick.

Phase 1

Whist Card Game Set

  • The 1st phase of Whist gives players the chance to improve their hands. On each trick, the top 2 cards of the draw pile are at stake.
  • The winning player takes the revealed top card of the draw pile, and the losing player takes the unrevealed 2nd card of the draw pile.
  • The non-dealer leads the first trick. The leading player can choose to deliberately lose the trick by playing a low-rank card if the revealed top card is not desirable.
  • After each trick, the cards used in the trick are discarded and are not used in the remainder of the round. The next top card is revealed and the process repeats until all 26 from the draw pile are removed.

Bid Whist Card Game

Phase 2

  • The player winning the final trick of Phase 1 will lead the first trick of Phase 2.
  • In phase 2, the game proceeds like a usual trick-taking game, with the same rules as the first phase.
  • Players play tricks with the winning player leading the next. Players must follow suit whenever possible. Each winning trick is kept by the player.
  • Players are then scored based on the number of tricks they’ve won.
  • The player winning the round then becomes the dealer for the next round. This continues until one player has reached the specified point threshold.

Whist Rules

The basic Whist game rules for 2 players are:

  • The dealer is determined by deck splitting.
  • Each player is dealt 13 cards each, with the remaining cards forming the draw pile.
  • The top card of the draw pile is revealed. The suit becomes the trump suit for the round.
  • Phase 1 begins allowing players to improve their hands by replacing cards by winning tricks. The winning player gets the top revealed card, and the losing player gets the unrevealed 2nd card.
  • Once all cards are depleted from the draw pile, Phase 2 begins. Players play out tricks using the cards from hand, and the player winning more tricks wins the round.

Scoring & Tricks

Whist scoring is based on the final number oftricks won after Phase 2 concludes. Each trick won is worth 1 point each, andthe winning player is awarded the difference between tricks won.

For example:

  • Player 1: 8 tricks won
  • Player 2: 5 tricks won

Player 1 wins and is awarded 3 points.

Whist Card Game 3 Players

Hand Example

This is a whist hand played in Phase 1, showing how playerscan improve their hands.

Trick 1

Revealed Card: 5♦
Player 1’s hand: J♦ 8♦ 4♦ 3♦ K♣ J♣ 10♣ 6♠ 4♠ 2♠ A♥ K♥ 2♥
Player 2’s hand: A♦ K♦ 10♦ 8♦ 7♦ 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ 5♣ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ 7♥

Since the first card is the trump suit for the round, it is always desirable, and players should always seek to win the trick for it. Player 1 leads the trick, and plays theA♥ to guarantee the trick. Player 2 must follow suit, and plays their only 7♥.

Player 1 wins the trick and gets the card. Player 2 gets the unrevealed 2nd card of the draw pile, which is a Q♣.

Trick 2

Revealed Card:Q♦
Player 1’s hand: J♦ 8♦ 5♦ 4♦ 3♦ K♣ J♣ 10♣ 6♠ 4♠ 2♠ K♥ 2♥
Player 2’s hand: A♦ K♦ 10♦ 8♦ 7♦ Q♣ 9♣ 8♣ 7♣ 5♣ Q♠ J♠ 10♠

Since Player 1 won the 1st trick, they lead the 2nd trick as well. Knowing that Player 2 does not have good cards from the ♥ suit, Player 1 plays their K♥ card. Player 2 is unable to follow suit since they do not have a card from the ♥ suit. Hence, Player 2 plays their 7♦ card, which wins by default since it is of the trump suit.

This continues until all cards are removed.

Strategy and Tips

  • The main aspect of whist strategy is to improve your hand during the 1st phase.
  • Try to anticipate what cards your opponent has to win tricks.
  • Play out lower ranked cards when you know you can’t win tricks.
  • Count cards, there are only 1 card of each suit and rank.
  • Know that you can bluff by deliberately losing tricks.
  • Try to win as many tricks as possible to maintain momentum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I play Whistonline for free?

Whist can be played online through simulators, such as on CardGames.io. They also offer popular games like go Euchre and Cribbage.

Bid Whist Online With Real People

Does thisgame have variations?

Whist has popular variations such as Bid Whist and Knockout Whist.

What is the highest card rank in Whist?

Whist Card Game/spades

In Whist, Aces are the highest rank, and 2s are the lowest.

How to play 4-player Whist?

4-player Whist removes the 1st phase, but retains the rule that players must follow suit if possible.