Whist

Whist, game of cards played by two sets of partners using a full pack of 52 cards. The object of the game is to win as many of the 13 so-called tricks (rounds) as possible. The cards are dealt one at a time, facedown, to all four players; the last card, which is the dealer's, is dealt faceup to determine the trump suit for that hand. The player on the dealer's left leads—that is, begins the round by playing any card. The other players in turn play a card of the same suit. The player revealing the highest card of the suit wins the trick and makes the first lead of the next trick. If, however, a player has no card of the suit led, that player may play a card of the trump suit, which automatically outranks any card of the suit led and wins the trick. When more than one player plays a trump card, the highest trump wins the trick. Partners score 1 point for every trick over the first six that they take, and a game consists of 7 points. Variants of the game of whist include bid whist, duplicate whist, and solo whist.

Whist, which until the late 17th century was called triumph or trump, is probably of English origin; as triumph it can be traced to the early 16th century. The game became popular in the upper classes after the publication in 1742 of A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, by the British writer on games Edmond Hoyle. The outstanding authority on whist was the 19th-century British writer and physician Henry Jones, who wrote on whist under the pen name of Cavendish. Whist underwent many changes during the 19th century, eventually evolving into the game of bridge.