Introduction
From Victorian England, Whist spread around the western world and at the height of its
popularity even the White House had a room reserved to play the game. From Whist, Contract
Bridge evolved, which eventually replaced it, and today, unfortunately, Whist is played
by a handful of nostalgics like me. Which is a pity, because Whist is a great game.
Although the rules are simple, mindful tactics and strategic thinking is required to play
it well.
Four players play in partnerships. The dealer changes clockwise after every round. All players receive 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck. The final card, which belongs to the dealer, is turned face up and decides which suit is trump. Whist is a “trick taking” game, which means that all players play one card to the table, and whoever plays the best card, takes the trick.
Partnership
At CardGames.CLUB you form a team with a solid player, simply named “Partner”. She
will adapt to your game smoothly and will keep you out of trouble whenever that is required.
Your opponents are named “Opponents”, a tricky lot, that will not allow you to lose your
concentration for a sec.
Play
The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick with any card in her hand.
Play continues clockwise. Players must follow suit if possible. If a player can’t follow
suit, she may play any card, including a trump card. The trick is won by the highest card
of the opening suit, unless a trump is played, in which case the highest trump wins.
The winner of the trick leads the next one.
Score
Round - The team that took most tricks wins the round, scores 1 point for each trick
it took over six.
Game - A game is won when a team reaches 5 points.
Match - A match traditionally is a rubber, or “best of three” games, which means the winner of the match is the team that wins 2 games.