FACTOID # 99: Thinking of becoming a teacher? Head to Switzerland. Teaching salaries there start at $US 33,000.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RELATED ARTICLES
People who viewed "Whist" also viewed:
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

FACTS & STATISTICS    Simple view

  1. Select countries to view: (hold down Control key and click to select several)

     

     

    Compare:

     

     

  1. Select fact or statistic: (* = graphable)

     

     

     

  2. (OPTIONAL) Compare to statistic: (both need to be graphable)

     

     

     

  3. View result as:

     

       
(OR) SEARCH ALL encyclopedia, stats & forums:   

Encyclopedia > Whist
Whist (card game)
Image:Card shuffling.jpg
Type trick-taking
Players 4
Deck 52-card
Cards Anglo-American
Play Clockwise
Card rank
(highest to lowest)
A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Origin England
Related games Ruff and Honours, Minnesota whist, Auction bridge, Contract Bridge, Solo whist

Whist is a classic trick-taking card game which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It developed from the older game Ruff and Honours. Although the rules are extremely simple, there is enormous scope for scientific play; since the only information known at the start is the player's thirteen cards, the game is difficult to play well. // For the game on The Price Is Right, see Card Game (pricing game). ... Photo of card shuffling by LDC, released to public domain. ... Trick-taking games are card games with a distinct and common play structure: Each round of play is divided into units called tricks, during which each player selects one card from his or her hand. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... This game was the forerunner for the game Whist, the forerunner of Bridge. ... // Minnesota Whist A simplified version of Whist, there are no trumps, and the goal of the game is to take 7 of the 13 tricks. ... The card game auction bridge is a predecessor to contract bridge. ... Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game of skill and chance (the relative proportions depend on the variant played). ... Solo whist, sometimes known as solo, is a trick-taking card game based on whist. ... Trick-taking games are card games with a distinct and common play structure: Each round of play is divided into units called tricks, during which each player selects one card from his or her hand. ... // For the game on The Price Is Right, see Card Game (pricing game). ... This game was the forerunner for the game Whist, the forerunner of Bridge. ...


In its heyday a large amount of literature about how to play Whist was written. Edmond Hoyle, of "according to Hoyle" fame, wrote an early popular and definitive textbook. 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". Edmond Hoyle (1672 - August 29, 1769) , also known as Edmund Hoyle, is a writer best known for his works providing detailed descriptions of games. ... Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game of skill and chance (the relative proportions depend on the variant played). ... A whist drive is a social event at which progressive games of the trick-taking card game whist are played. ...

Contents

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, and made popular by the US Military.)
  • 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)
  • Jass (pronounced Yass) (a Swiss four-player card game, partners alternatively declare trump)
  • 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 penalised)
  • 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)

Bid whist is a variant, played in the United States, of the classic card game, whist. ... Boston whist is a variant of whist that was popular in 19th century Europe. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer – novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher – as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. ... War and Peace (Russian: Voyna i mir; in original orthography: Война и миръ) is an novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. ... Call-ace whist (Esmakker whist) is the most popular card game in Denmark and also popular in Greenland. ... Catch the Ten is a version of the card game whist. ... Colour whist (Kleurenwiezen in Dutch) is a Belgian variation to the card-game whist. ... Solo whist, sometimes known as solo, is a trick-taking card game based on whist. ... German Whist is a variation on classic Whist for two players. ... Jass is the name of a trick taking card game. ... Hearts is a trick-taking card game normally played by four players but it can be modified for other numbers of players. ... Spades is a trick-taking game somewhat akin to Hearts but more closely related to bridge. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... Palestinian whist is a variant of whist popular among Israeli soldiers and travelers. ... Oh Hell is an easy-to-learn trick-taking card game. ... Knock-out Whist is known by a variety of names including Trumps in Britain, Reduction Whist, Diminishing Whist and Rat. ... // Minnesota Whist A simplified version of Whist, there are no trumps, and the goal of the game is to take 7 of the 13 tricks. ... Oh Hell is an easy-to-learn trick-taking card game. ... Romanian whist is a variant of whist which is similar to the English or American game Oh Hell! It is currently popular in Romania, and there it is called whist. // Rules Romanian whist is a game for 3 to 8 players (best for 4 - 6). ... Oh Hell is an easy-to-learn trick-taking card game. ... Solo whist, sometimes known as solo, is a trick-taking card game based on whist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Also known as Widow Whist, a variant of the trick-taking game Whist. ...

Whist rules

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. 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 players then cut for deal. It is strictly against the rules to in any way comment on the cards. One may not comment upon the hand he was dealt nor about his good fortune or bad fortune. One may not signal his partner.


Shuffling and dealing

The cards can be shuffled by any player, though usually the player to dealer's left. The dealer has the right to shuffle last if they wish. To speed up dealing a second pack can be shuffled by the dealer's partner during the deal and then placed on their right ready for the next hand. The cards are cut by the player on dealer's right before dealing. The dealer deals out all the cards, one at a time, face down, so that each player has thirteen cards. The final card, which belongs to the dealer, is turned face up to indicate which suit is trumps. The turned up trump remains face up on the table until it is dealer's turn to play to the first trick. The deal advances clockwise. The four French playing card suits used primarily in the English-speaking world: spades(♠), hearts(), diamonds() and clubs(♣). In playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. ...


Play

The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. Any card in his hand may be led. 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. The winner of the trick leads to the next trick. This continues until all thirteen tricks are played, at which point, the score is recorded. If no team has enough points to win the game then another hand is played. Part of the skill involved in the game is one's ability to remember what cards have been played and reason out what cards remain. Therefore, once the trick is played, the cards are turned face down and kept in a stack of four near the player who won the trick. Before the next trick starts, a player may ask to review the cards that were in the very last trick only. Once the lead card is played, however, no previously played cards can be reviewed by anyone.


Scoring

After all 13 tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1 point for each trick won in excess of 6 (called the "odd tricks"). When all four players are experienced, it is unusual for the score for a single hand to be higher than two. A game is over when one team reaches a score of five. There are so called "House Rules" variations where other numbers are agreed to be played to in advance. Popular variations are American and "Long" where the games are played to seven and nine respectively. The "Long" version is normally combined with "Honours". The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ...


In longer variations of the game, those games where the winning score is not the standard five, honours are points that are claimed at the end of each hand. Honours add nothing to the play of a hand. Honours serve only as an element of luck that speeds up games, and they are often omitted these days. Serious players disdain honours because it greatly increases the element of chance in Whist. A team that was dealt the top four cards (A,K,Q,J) in the trump suit collect extra points. A team who holds three of the four honours between them claim 2 points, a team who holds all four honours between them claim 4 points. Tricks are scored before honours. Honours points can never be used for the last point of a game. Consider the following example: A game is being played to 9 points. The score is tied at 6. A hand is played and the winner of that hand took seven tricks and claimed honours. That team would receive 1 point for the trick and only 1 point for honours. The score would then be 8 to 6.


Basic Whist technique

  • For the opening lead, it is best to lead your strongest suit, which is usually the longest. A singleton may also be a good lead, trying to trump in that suit as partner should normally return the suit led.
  • 1st hand: It is usual to lead the king from a sequence of honours that includes it, including AK (the lead of an ace therefore denies the king).
  • 2nd hand usually plays low, especially with a single honour. However, it is often correct to split honours (play the lower of two touching honours) and to cover a J or 10 when holding Qx and cover a Q when holding the ace.
  • 3rd hand usually plays high, though play the lowest of touching honours. The finesse can be a useful technique, especially in trumps where honours can't be trumped if they are not cashed.
  • Discards are usually low cards of a suit you do not like, however, when the opponents are drawing trumps a suit preference signal is given by throwing a low card of your strongest suit.

The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ... The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ... finesse is a parameter characterizing a Fabry-Perot interferometer. ... The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ... The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ...

Whist terms

See also: Contract bridge glossary

Deal: One card at a time is given to each player by the dealer starting with the player on the dealer’s left and proceeding clockwise until the deck is fully distributed.
Dealer: The player who deals the cards for a game.
Deck: Standard playing card deck consisting of 52 cards in four suits.
Dummy: In some variations of whist, a hand is turned face up and is played from by the player seated opposite. This allows for whist to be played by three players.
Grand Slam: The winning, by one team, of all thirteen tricks in a hand.
Hand: Thirteen tricks. (52 cards in the deck divided by four players equals thirteen cards per player.)
Honours: In some variations of whist, extra points are assigned after a game to a team if they were dealt the ace, king, queen, and jack (knave) of the trump suit.
Lead: The first card played in a trick.
Rubber: A series of games. For example, best of three or best of five.
Slam: The winning, by one team, of twelve tricks in a hand.
Trick: A round in which each player gets one turn.
Trump: The suit chosen by the last dealt card that will beat all other suits regardless of rank. When two cards are played from the trump suit the higher card wins the trick.
The following terms are used in Contract bridge, Duplicate bridge, and Auction bridge. ...


Literary references

"[...] Whist has long been noted for its influence upon what is termed the calculating power; and men of the highest order of intellect have been known to take an apparently unaccountable delight in it, [...]" Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1841. ...

"[...] His only pastime was reading the papers and playing whist. He frequently won at this quiet game, so very appropriate to his nature;[...]" Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. ... Around the World in Eighty Days (French: Le tour du monde en quatre-vingt jours) is a classic adventure novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1872. ...

  • In the opening chapter of Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich the characters contrast the solemnity of the funeral ceremony with the desire to escape and play whist.

The cover of the 1974 paperback edition of one of Foresters non-fiction titles: Hunting The Bismarck Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (August 27, 1899 – April 2, 1966), an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure with military themes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Scarlett is the sequel to Margaret Mitchells Gone With the Wind. ... Gone with the Wind, an American novel by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. ... Alexandra Ripley, née Braid (January 8, 1934 - January 10, 2004) was a U.S. writer best known as the author of Scarlett (1991), the sequel to Gone With the Wind. ... Scarlett OHara (full name Katie Scarlett OHara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) of French-Irish ancestry is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel, Gone with the Wind, and in the later film of the same name. ... 1873 engraving of Jane Austen, based on a portrait drawn by her sister Cassandra. ... Pride and Prejudice, see Pride and Prejudice (film). ... Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian: ; IPA: ; Ukrainian: ) (April 1, 1809 — March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origin. ... The Inspector General or The Government Inspector (in Russian, Ревизор) is a satirical play by 19th century Russian playwright and novelist Nikolai Gogol, published and produced in 1836. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer – novelist, essayist, dramatist and philosopher – as well as pacifist Christian anarchist and educational reformer. ... The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Russian: , Smert Ivana Ilyicha), first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy. ...

References

  • The Pan Book of Card Games, Hubert Phillips, Pan Books Ltd, London, 1960
  • Waddingtons Family Card Games, Robert Harbin, Pan Books Ltd, London, 1972
  • Official Rules of Card Games, United States Playing Card Company, 59th ed., 1973

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
How to play Whist, rules and variations of whist (760 words)
The game of whist may not be as popular a game as it used to be, Bridge really managed to take its place, but still, this delightful game is simple to understand and generally a fun way to pass some time with friends.
Whist is a plain trick game, where 4 players, paired off in partners, try to win as many tricks as they can.
Traditionally you have to decks of playing cards during whist, one deck is for the next hand and it is shuffled by the dealer's partner and kept to the dealer's right.
whist - Encyclopedia.com (1163 words)
Whist originated in England, where it was a development of earlier games (e.g., triumph) that were known in the 16th cent.
Bid whist, or Bid as it is known by the faithful, is a variant of whist, a card game born in England that became...
Trick or treat at Guild whist day; Yesterday saw 24 keen card players descend on Birmingham from across the country for the Townswomen's Guild's first National Whist Tournament.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.