Whist card game: rules and score keeper

How to play Whist

Seats and the deal

Cut for partners and the first deal, or let our who goes first picker choose. Partners sit across the table. The dealer deals the whole deck one card at a time, face down, starting on their left, so everyone has 13. The 52nd card belongs to the dealer and is turned face up: its suit is trump. It stays on the table until the dealer plays to the first trick, then goes into the dealer's hand. The deal passes to the left after every hand.

Playing a trick

1. The player on the dealer's left leads any card.
2. Going left, everyone plays one card. You must play the suit that was led if you have one.
3. With none of that suit, play anything: a trump to try to win, or a low card you do not need.
4. The highest trump takes the trick. With no trump in it, the highest card of the led suit wins. A card of a third suit never wins.
5. The winner gathers the four cards face down and leads the next trick.

Partners stack their tricks together, so it does not matter which of you wins a trick. That is the heart of the game: when your partner's card is already winning, play low and save your high cards.

Whist scoring

Only the side that took more tricks scores, and only for tricks past the first six (the "book"). Take 9 tricks and you score 3; the other side, with 4, scores 0. Because 13 is odd, there is never a tie on a hand.

The first side to 5 points wins the game, which usually takes a few hands. A rubber is the best of three games: win two and you win the rubber.

Honours (optional)

The honours are the ace, king, queen and jack of trump. Count them at the end of the hand: if one side held all four between its two hands, it scores 4; three of the four scores 2. Two each scores nothing. Two limits apply. A side that is one point short of game cannot score honours. And tricks are scored before honours, so when both sides would reach game on the same hand, the side scoring for tricks wins. Example: side A takes 6 tricks but held all four honours; side B scores 1 for its 7th trick and side A scores 4 for honours.

Whist drives

A whist drive is a social tournament with several tables. Each table plays a fixed number of hands rather than a game, trumps go round in a set order (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs, then again), and each side adds up its odd tricks. Set the keeper to "a set number of hands" and "trumps in turn" to run one, and the status line will say which suit is trump for every hand. For a knockout between pairs, the bracket generator can draw the matches.

Where the sources differ

• Game target. Pagat gives 5 points, with 7 as the old American target and 10 for "Long Whist". Bicycle says only that the side with more points wins. The keeper offers all three.
• Honours. Part of the traditional game, but Pagat notes that many players leave them out now. Off by default here.
• Choosing trump. The classic game turns the dealer's last card. Pagat describes the fixed order (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs, sometimes with a no-trump hand every fifth) as common in tournaments.
• Scoring at a drive. Pagat scores a fixed number of deals by odd tricks. If your club scores drives another way, use its rules; the keeper's totals follow Pagat.

Anything else, such as playing to a time limit, is a house rule. Agree on it before the first deal.

Tips for better Whist

1. Lead from your longest suit. The old advice still holds: lead your long suit so the small cards in it become winners once the high ones are gone.
2. Second hand low, third hand high. Playing second to a trick, play low and leave it to your partner. Playing third, play high enough to beat the leader.
3. Return your partner's suit. When your partner leads a suit, lead it back when you win a trick. They led it because they want it.
4. Count trumps. There are 13. Count them as they fall and you will know when your small trumps have become winners.

Whist questions

How do you score Whist?

After all 13 tricks, the side that took more scores 1 point for every trick over six. Those are called odd tricks. Take 9 tricks and you score 3; the other side, with 4, scores nothing. Pagat gives game as 5 points; American players often played to 7.

How many players are needed for Whist?

Four, in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting across from each other. For two players, German Whist is the usual adaptation, and for three or more without partners, Knockout Whist is a common family game.

How is trump chosen in Whist?

The dealer turns the last card of the deal face up, and its suit is trump for the hand. The card stays on the table until the dealer plays to the first trick, then goes into the dealer's hand. At whist drives, trumps often go round in a fixed order instead: hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs.

What is the difference between Whist and Bid Whist?

Whist has no bidding: trump comes from a turned card and the side that takes more tricks scores. Bid Whist adds jokers, a kitty and an auction where the winning team names trump or plays with no trump, and can choose whether high or low cards win.

What are honours in Whist?

The ace, king, queen and jack of trump. In the traditional game, a side that held all four between its two hands scored 4 extra points, and three of the four scored 2. Many players leave honours out now because they add luck. The keeper has a switch for them.