Re: Is robby going to throw max a whist party?
- From: BillV2320@xxxxxxxxx (Stickleructor Prime)
- Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:06:12 -0400
Whist
Jules Verne uses whist playing to describe Phileas Fogg in Around the
World in Eighty Days:
Edgar Allan Poe briefly mentioned whist in his tale "The Murders in the
Rue Morgue," alluding to the analytical mind needed to play:
Whist (card game)
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
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.
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, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist.
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 many card players. Today, whist has
largely fallen out of favor in America, though it is still somewhat
popular among black Americans. Nevertheless, whist continues to be
played in Britain, often in local tournaments called "whist drives".
Contents
1 Versions of whist
2 Whist rules
3 Shuffling and dealing
4 Play
5 Scoring
6 Basic whist technique
7 Whist terms
8 Literary references
9 References
10 External links
[edit] 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; it is the national game of Denmark)
Catch the Ten (also known as 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)
Dummy whist (a three player variant of bid whist)
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 (Play of a trick follows whist rules, but the object is not to
take tricks. Hearts is included in Windows as Hearts (Windows))
Spades (A contract-type game similar to bid whist, popular in North
America; the game's name comes from the fact that spades is always the
trump suit).
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 penalized)
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)
Rang (played in south Asia; like whist for two teams of two people; one
player on the team that wins a game chooses trumps on the basis of the
first five cards dealt for the next game)
Double Sir / Double Trumps (also played in south Asia, an interesting
variation to Rang, in which tricks are only captured when the same
player wins two tricks in succession. The player then captures all the
unclaimed tricks up to that point.)
Hokm (played in Iran. The name means "To Rule".)
Serbian whist (a game in which players try to predict the exact number
of tricks they will take, and each round players are dealt one card
less)
[edit] 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 one was
dealt nor about one's good fortune or bad fortune. One may not signal
one's partner.
[edit] 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 he wishes. To
speed up dealing a second pack can be shuffled by the dealer's partner
during the deal and then placed on his 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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".
In longer variations of the game, those games where the winning score is
not the standard 5 points, 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. 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 5.
[edit] 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, aiming at
trumping in that suit, as one's 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 cannot be trumped if they are not cashed.
Discards are usually low cards of an unwanted suit. However, when the
opponents are drawing trumps a suit preference signal is given by
throwing a low card of one's strongest suit.
[edit] 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 dealerâ??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.
[edit] 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, [...]"
"[...] His only pastime was reading the papers and playing whist. He
frequently won at this quiet game, so very appropriate to his
nature;[...]"
Whist also figures extensively in C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower
series. Hornblower is featured as living off his winnings from playing
whist while a half-pay Lieutenant, and famously playing whist with
subordinate officers before a battle.
The same is true in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell and
was used mainly to portray gambling much the same way poker is today.
Whist is often enjoyed by Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin whilst at sea
in the Aubreyâ?"Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian.
In Scarlett, the sequel to Gone with the Wind, Alexandra Ripley mentions
several times that Scarlett O'Hara is an extremely skillful whist
player.
Miss. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Wickham discuss Mr. Darcy during a whist
party in chapter 16 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The game is
also mentioned in her books Mansfield Park, Emma, and Sense and
Sensibility.
In Nikolai Gogol's play The Inspector General, a character Hlestakov
lies about playing whist with a group of influential ambassadors to look
important. It is also prominent in Nikolai Gogol's poema, "Dead Souls".
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.
In Middlemarch by George Eliot, the game is referenced numerous times as
an aristocratic pursuit played frequently at the Vincy residence. In
particular, the clergyman Mr. Farebrother supplements his income by
playing for money, a pursuit looked down upon by many of his
parishioners.
In the role playing game Deadlands The Weird West, a magical item called
"A Short Treatise on Whist" was available in the town of Grammora
Library.
In his autobiography, Groucho and Me, Groucho Marx talks about playing
whist with an ex-girlfriend during a chapter on her husbands insomnia.
In The Fiery Cross , Diana Gabaldon describes a high-stakes whist game
between Jamie Fraser, "who was indeed an excellent card player. He also
knew most of the possible ways of cheating at cards. However, whist was
difficult, if not impossible to cheat at.", and Phylip Wylie, who had
angered Fraser by making advances to his wife.
In Life of Henry Clay, Carl Schurz notes that â??his fondness for
card-playing, which, although in his early years he had given up games
of chance, still led him to squander but too much time upon
whist.â??
[edit] 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
[edit] External links
Look up whist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
whist.
Rules of Card Games: Whist
Whist Counters, Whist Markers
Special K Whist site and software
CardSharp - Free online game against computer opponents
FreeWhist.be : Play Whist on-line
Play classic, minnesota and bid whist against other players or computer
opponents
.
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