Playcard games

Whist: questions and answers

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Whist. Everything else is in the full rules.

How many players does Whist need?
Four, in two partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other. The whole 52-card deck is dealt, thirteen cards each, and aces are high.
How is the trump chosen in Whist?
The dealer deals their own last card face up. Its suit is trump for the hand, and the dealer takes the card into their hand before play begins — so everybody knows one card the dealer holds.
Do you have to follow suit in Whist?
Yes. If you can follow the suit led, you must. If you cannot, you may play any card at all — a trump to win the trick, or anything else to throw away. Nothing forces you to trump.
How is Whist scored?
The first six tricks a side takes are the book and score nothing. Every trick above six is one point, so a side taking nine tricks scores three. Thirteen tricks means only one side can score in a hand.
What are honours in Whist?
The ace, king, queen and jack of trumps. Some tables pay four points for holding all four between partners and two for holding three. Many leave it out, because it rewards the deal rather than the play. Here it is the host's choice, and it is off unless they turn it on.
How long is a game of Whist?
Five points, or seven, agreed beforehand. Traditional tables play a rubber, the best of three games; here a table plays one game. If both sides reach the target in the same hand level, another hand is played.
Who leads, and how does the deal move?
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads the next. After thirteen tricks the deal passes to the left.
What is the difference between Whist and Bridge?
Bridge grew out of whist. It adds an auction, where the partnerships bid for the right to name trumps and promise a number of tricks, and a dummy hand laid face up. Whist has none of that: the trump is turned, and all that matters is how the cards are played.