Whist

Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game that peaked in popularity during the 1700s and 1800s. Its rules are straightforward, but the game rewards careful strategy. The name comes from a 17th-century word, *whist* or *wist*, meaning quiet, silent, and attentive—the same root as the modern word *wistful*.

The game evolved from earlier card games. In 1674, *The Complete Gamester* noted that Ruff and Honours was the most popular descendant of Triumph in 17th-century England. Whist emerged as a simpler, more restrained version of Ruff and Honours, played with a 52-card pack and a 10-point game, eventually replacing its predecessor in the 18th century. Around 1728, according to Daines Barrington, gentlemen began playing Whist seriously at the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London. Edmond Hoyle, likely a member of that group, started teaching wealthy young men the game and published *A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist* in 1742, which became the standard rules for the next century. Short Whist—played as a rubber of two 5-point games in Britain and a 7-point game in America—grew popular, while the original 10-point version became known as long whist.

In 1862, Henry Jones, writing as "Cavendish," published *The Principles of Whist Stated and Explained*, which became the new standard text. Jones traced Whist’s ancestry to a game called Trionf, mentioned by the 16th-century Italian poet Berni, and to Trump (or Triumph), referenced in Shakespeare’s *Antony and Cleopatra*. Later editions of his book were simply titled *Cavendish on Whist*. By the late 19th century, Whist was governed by elaborate, rigid rules covering laws, etiquette, and play, which required study to master. The Portland Club in London and The Whist Club in New York maintained the official rules of Short Whist, and the last edition of *Cavendish* adopted the superior American system of leads and signals. In the early 1890s, Whist was quickly replaced by Bridge in clubs, but it survived as a social game, in club duplicate competitions, and at charitable whist drives. Many modern variants exist, and Whist can still be played online under the same rules as 300 years ago.

A standard 52-card pack is used, with cards ranked Ace (high) down to 2. Four players draw cards to decide partnerships and the dealer; the two lowest cards play together and sit opposite each other, while the highest card deals and the second highest is their partner. The dealer chooses a pack, passes it to the left to be shuffled, then may shuffle again before passing to the right to cut. The dealer completes the cut and deals 13 cards to each player one at a time, turning their last card face up to set the trump suit.

Play proceeds clockwise. The player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. The dealer picks up the trump card when it is their turn. Players must follow suit if possible; otherwise, they may discard or play a trump. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless a trump is played, in which case the highest trump wins. Before the next trick, a player may ask to see the last trick’s cards. The winner of each trick leads to the next.

Scoring awards one point for each odd trick (tricks beyond six) won by a pair. Long Whist originally played to 9 or 10 odd tricks and often used honours. American Short Whist played to seven odd tricks; British Short Whist played to five odd tricks, with the first pair to win two games winning the rubber. Honours were optional: holding three of the top four honours earned a one-trick bonus, and all four a two-trick bonus. Modern Short Whist commonly gives two points for three honours and four points for all four. A pair with four points cannot win game by honours and must make an odd trick. For stakes, a game is one point; a game where opponents score only one or two tricks is a double game, and a shutout is a triple game. Winning the rubber adds a two-point bonus. Scoring can be done with pen and paper or whist markers.

Skilled players try to deduce which cards opponents hold and signal information to their partner through the cards played. There is no bidding as in bridge, so partners rely on conventions—especially on leads and early plays—to communicate. For instance, on the first lead, a player conventionally leads their strongest, usually longest, suit. Leading an Ace then a King of the same suit signals those were the only two cards in that suit; leading King then Ace implies the player also holds low cards in that suit.