Whist
Encyclopedia
Whist is a classic English trick-taking
card game
which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours
. Although the rules are extremely simple, there is enormous scope for scientific play.
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. It is important to note that this game, called "French ruff" by Charles Cotton, is similar to écarté. English ruff-and-honours, also described by Cotton, is similar to whist. If we admit that ruff and trump are convertible terms, of which there is scarcely a doubt, the game of trump was the precursor of whist. A purely English origin may, therefore, be claimed for trump (not la triomphe). No record is known to exist of the invention of this game, nor of the mode of its growth into ruff-and-honours, and finally into whist.
Early in the 18th century whist was not a fashionable game. The Hon. Daines Harrington (Archaeologia, vol. viii.) says it was the game of the servants' hall. Contemporary writers refer to it in a disparaging way, as being only fit for hunting men and country squires, and not for fine ladies or people of quality. According to Barrington, whist was first played on scientific principles by a party of gentlemen who frequented the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London, about 1728. They laid down the following rules: "Lead from the strong suit; study your partner's hand; and attend to the score." Shortly afterwards the celebrated Edmond Hoyle (q.v.) published his Short Treatise (1742). It has been surmised by some that Hoyle belonged to the Crown Coffee House party. This, however, is only a conjecture. There is abundant evidence to show that, in the middle of the 18th century, whist was regularly played at the coffee houses of London and in fashionable society. From the time of Hoyle the game continued to increase in public estimation, until the introduction of bridge, which has to a large extent replaced it, but which has much in common with it.
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. William Henry Seward, Secretary of State for Abraham Lincoln, was famous for his enjoyment of whist, often entertaining guests with the game. Today, whist has largely fallen out of favor in the United States, though it is still somewhat popular among African Americans. Nevertheless, whist continues to be played in Britain, often in local tournaments called a "whist drive".
. 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.
Play continues until all thirteen tricks are played, at which point the score is recorded. If no team has enough points to win the game, 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 each trick is played, its 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 from the last trick only. Once the lead card is played, however, no previously played cards can be reviewed by anyone.
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 7th trick and only 1 point for honours. The score would then be 8 to 6.
Deal: One card at a time is given to each player by the dealer starting with the player on the dealer’s left and proceeding clockwise until the deck is fully distributed.
Dealer: The player who deals the cards for a hand.
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.
Finesse: The play of a lower honour even though holding a higher one, hoping that the intermediate honour is held by a player who has already played to the trick. To give an example: you hold the ace and queen of hearts. Your right-hand antagonist leads a heart, from which you infer that he holds the king of the same suit and wishes to draw the ace, in order to make his king. You however play the queen, and win the trick; still retaining your ace, ready to win again when he plays his king.
Game: Reaching a total score agreed beforehand to be the score played up to.
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.)
Honors: 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.
Pack: See Deck.
Rubber: The best of three games.
Small slam: The winning, by one team, of twelve tricks in a hand.
Tenace is a suit holding containing the highest and third-highest of the suit or (the "minor tenace") second- and fourth-highest.
Trick: Four cards played one each by the players.
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.
Trick-taking game
A trick-taking game is a card game or tile-based game in which play centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as Whist, Contract Bridge, Napoleon, Rowboat, and...
card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. It derives from the 16th century game of Trump or Ruff, via Ruff and Honours
Ruff and Honours
Ruff and Honours, a successor of the French game Triomphe with many different spellings, is a 17th century card game derivative of Ruff, the ancestor of Whist, which in turn was the forerunner of bridge and many other trick-taking card games like Whisk and Swabbers.-History:This game was first...
. Although the rules are extremely simple, there is enormous scope for scientific play.
History
Apparently originating in the early 17th century, the now obsolete adjective whist and variant spelling wist (in which the word wistful has its roots), meant quiet, silent, and/or attentive. The adverb wistly is also defined as meaning intently.In its heyday a large amount of literature about how to play whist was written. Edmond Hoyle
Edmond Hoyle
Edmond Hoyle was a writer best known for his works on the rules and play of card games. The phrase "according to Hoyle" came into the language as a reflection of his generally-perceived authority on the subject; since that time, use of the phrase has expanded into general use in situations in...
, of "According to Hoyle" fame, wrote an early popular and definitive textbook, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist. It is important to note that this game, called "French ruff" by Charles Cotton, is similar to écarté. English ruff-and-honours, also described by Cotton, is similar to whist. If we admit that ruff and trump are convertible terms, of which there is scarcely a doubt, the game of trump was the precursor of whist. A purely English origin may, therefore, be claimed for trump (not la triomphe). No record is known to exist of the invention of this game, nor of the mode of its growth into ruff-and-honours, and finally into whist.
Early in the 18th century whist was not a fashionable game. The Hon. Daines Harrington (Archaeologia, vol. viii.) says it was the game of the servants' hall. Contemporary writers refer to it in a disparaging way, as being only fit for hunting men and country squires, and not for fine ladies or people of quality. According to Barrington, whist was first played on scientific principles by a party of gentlemen who frequented the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London, about 1728. They laid down the following rules: "Lead from the strong suit; study your partner's hand; and attend to the score." Shortly afterwards the celebrated Edmond Hoyle (q.v.) published his Short Treatise (1742). It has been surmised by some that Hoyle belonged to the Crown Coffee House party. This, however, is only a conjecture. There is abundant evidence to show that, in the middle of the 18th century, whist was regularly played at the coffee houses of London and in fashionable society. From the time of Hoyle the game continued to increase in public estimation, until the introduction of bridge, which has to a large extent replaced it, but which has much in common with it.
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
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
, which shares many traits with whist, displaced it as the most popular card game amongst many card players. William Henry Seward, Secretary of State for Abraham Lincoln, was famous for his enjoyment of whist, often entertaining guests with the game. Today, whist has largely fallen out of favor in the United States, though it is still somewhat popular among African Americans. Nevertheless, whist continues to be played in Britain, often in local tournaments called a "whist drive".
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 comment on the cards in any way. One may not comment upon the hand one was dealt nor about one's good fortune or bad fortune. One may not signal to one's partner.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 or she wishes. To speed up dealing a second pack can be shuffled by the dealer's partner during the deal and then placed to the 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 trumpsTrump (card game)
A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its normal rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a trump suit - these cards then outrank all cards of plain suits...
. 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.
Play
The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. He may lead any card in his hand. 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 the next trick.Play continues until all thirteen tricks are played, at which point the score is recorded. If no team has enough points to win the game, 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 each trick is played, its 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 from the last trick only. Once the lead card is played, however, no previously played cards can be reviewed by anyone.
Scoring
After all tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1 point for each trick won in excess of 6. 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 "Hotel 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 "Honors."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 7th trick and only 1 point for honours. The score would then be 8 to 6.
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 finesseFinesseIn contract bridge and similar games, a finesse is a technique which allows one to promote tricks based on a favorable position of one or more cards in the hands of the opponents....
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.
Whist terms
Deal: One card at a time is given to each player by the dealer starting with the player on the dealer’s left and proceeding clockwise until the deck is fully distributed.
Dealer: The player who deals the cards for a hand.
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.
Finesse: The play of a lower honour even though holding a higher one, hoping that the intermediate honour is held by a player who has already played to the trick. To give an example: you hold the ace and queen of hearts. Your right-hand antagonist leads a heart, from which you infer that he holds the king of the same suit and wishes to draw the ace, in order to make his king. You however play the queen, and win the trick; still retaining your ace, ready to win again when he plays his king.
Game: Reaching a total score agreed beforehand to be the score played up to.
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.)
Honors: 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.
Pack: See Deck.
Rubber: The best of three games.
Small slam: The winning, by one team, of twelve tricks in a hand.
Tenace is a suit holding containing the highest and third-highest of the suit or (the "minor tenace") second- and fourth-highest.
Trick: Four cards played one each by the players.
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.
List of variations
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 whistBid whistBid whist is a partnership trick-taking variant of the classic card game whist. As indicated by the name, bid whist adds a bidding element to the game that is not present in classic whist. It is generally accepted that the game of bridge came from the game of whist. Derin Dickerson is suggested to...
(a partnership game with bidding, played in the USA, and made popular by the US Military) - BlobBlob- In biology :* Blob , sections of the visual cortex where groups of color-sensitive neurons assemble* Globster, an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water...
(a game in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will take and will be 'blobbed in' if wrong. Can be played with 4 or 5 players. 6 cards each, total number of tricks bid for in each hand cannot add up to 6. Person to left of dealer nominates trumps or no trumps and then becomes dealer for next hand.) - Boston (played in 19th century Europe, favored by Count Rostov in Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's novel War and PeaceWar and PeaceWar and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
) - Call-ace whistCall-ace whistCall-ace whist is the most popular card game in Denmark and also popular in Greenland.Deck: 52 cards + 3 jokersDeal: 13 cards to each player and 3 to a "kat"...
(in which the bidder chooses his partner by calling an ace; it is the national game of Denmark) - Catch the TenCatch the TenCatch the Ten is a point trick-tacking card game which first appeared in The American Hoyle of 1868 and is alternatively called "Scotch Whist". Of evident German origin or inspiration, it is about as Scotch as a bottle of Schapps. Unlike standard whist, it is played with a deck of only 36 cards, ...
(also known as Scotch whist) (uses only half the deck. 10 is most valuable.) - Colour whistColour whistColour whist is a Belgian variation to the card game whist.In contrast to the normal game of whist, the trump colour is determined by a bidding process rather than being the last card on the stack. The trump is determined during a first phase in the game...
or kleurwiezen (a Belgian game similar to solo whistSolo whistSolo Whist, sometimes known as simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game whose direct ancestor is the 17th century Spanish game Hombre, based on the English Whist. Its major distinctive feature is that one player often plays against the other three. However, players form temporary alliances with...
, but more elaborate) - Court pieceCourt pieceCourt piece or rang is a variant of the card game whist in which eldest hand makes trumps after the first five cards have been dealt, and trick-play is typically stopped after one party has won seven tricks. A special bonus is awarded if one party wins the first seven tricks, or even all tricks...
, also known as Rang, Hokm or Troefcall (an originally South Asian game) - Diminishing contract whist (a British variant, combining elements of solo whistSolo whistSolo Whist, sometimes known as simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game whose direct ancestor is the 17th century Spanish game Hombre, based on the English Whist. Its major distinctive feature is that one player often plays against the other three. However, players form temporary alliances with...
, bid whistBid whistBid whist is a partnership trick-taking variant of the classic card game whist. As indicated by the name, bid whist adds a bidding element to the game that is not present in classic whist. It is generally accepted that the game of bridge came from the game of whist. Derin Dickerson is suggested to...
and knock-out whistKnock-out WhistKnock-out Whist is a member of the Whist family known by a variety of names including Trumps in Britain, Reduction Whist, Diminishing Whist and Rat. It is often simply called Whist by players who are unfamiliar with the game properly called Whist...
, players compete individually, not in pairs, and after each hand has been dealt must name the number of tricks to take, scoring one point per trick and a bonus 10 for matching their contract. All 52 cards are dealt for the first hand, 48 for the second, 44 the next and so until a 13th round with just one trick. Trumps are pre-defined for each hand in sequence as: hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades, no trumps, lose all with no trumps - where you lose 10 points per trick taken and some players invariably end up in negative points - hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds. The total number of tricks bid each round cannot match the number of tricks available, so the dealer each hand must bid with this constraint in mind - sometimes this constraint is waived for the final round if players agree in advance. The winner is the player who has accumulated the most points at the end of the final round.) - Double Sar (also played in south Asia, a variation to Court Piece 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.)
- Dummy whistDummy whistDummy whist is one of the many variants of the classic trick-taking card game Whist. The general play of Dummy whist is similar to that of Bid whist, with two notable exceptions. Bid whist is played by four players, whereas dummy whist is played by only three...
(a three player variant of bid whist) - German whistGerman WhistGerman Whist is a variation on classic whist for two players. The game is most likely of British origin.- Players and Cards :German Whist is a two player game using a standard deck of 52 cards ranked A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in each suit....
(a British two-player adaptation of whist without bidding) - Hearts (Play of a trick follows whist rules, but the object is not to take tricks. Hearts is included in WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
as Hearts (Windows)) - Israeli whistIsraeli whistIsraeli Whist is a four player card game. It is a variation of the classical Whist, that evolved among Israeli IDF soldiers in the nineteen eighties, and is still popular among soldiers and travelers...
(another game somewhat related to Oh HellOh HellOh Hell is...
, in which one tries to bid the exact number of tricks one will take) - JassJassJass is a trick taking card game and a distinctive branch of the Marriage family, popularly supposed to be the progenitor of the American game of Pinochle...
(a Swiss four-player card game, partners alternatively declare trump) - Knock-out whistKnock-out WhistKnock-out Whist is a member of the Whist family known by a variety of names including Trumps in Britain, Reduction Whist, Diminishing Whist and Rat. It is often simply called Whist by players who are unfamiliar with the game properly called Whist...
, trumps (UK) or diminishing whist (a game in which a player who wins no trick is eliminated) - Minnesota whistMinnesota whistMinnesota whist is a simplified version of whist in which there are no trumps, and the goal of the game is to take 7 of the 13 tricks. Four-handed whist is played with two teams. The players of each team sit opposite each other at the table. One person is elected to keep score. Typically the...
(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 whistRomanian whistRomanian whist is a variant of whist which is similar to the English or American game Oh Hell! It is currently popular in Romania, and there it is simply called "whist"....
(a game in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will take - similar to Oh HellOh HellOh Hell is...
) - Russian whistVintVint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others...
is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist also referred to as VintVintVint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others... - Serbian whistSerbian whistSerbian whist is a variant of whist. It is popular in Serbia, and there it is simply called "whist" .-Rules:Serbian whist is a game for 4 players . Each player plays alone....
(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.) - Siberian Vint a redecessor and more primitive form of Vint,
- Skruuvi is a Finnish variant of VintVintVint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others...
, and it became common in Finland while it was a part of Russia - Solo whistSolo whistSolo Whist, sometimes known as simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game whose direct ancestor is the 17th century Spanish game Hombre, based on the English Whist. Its major distinctive feature is that one player often plays against the other three. However, players form temporary alliances with...
(played in Britain; a game where individuals can bid to win 5, 9 or 13 tricks or to lose every trick) - SpadesSpadesSpades is a partnership trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s, in which the object is for each pair or partnership to take at least the number of tricks they bid on before play began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge,...
(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). - TarneebTarneebTarneeb , is a popular plain trick-taking card game played in various middle eastern countries, most notably in the countries of the Fertile Crescent and Tanzania...
(played in the Arab world, a game in which the person who wins the bid picks the trump) - Three-handed "widow" whistThree-Handed WhistThree-Handed Whist, also known as Widow Whist, is a variant of the trick-taking game Whist."Widow" whist is named because of an extra hand that is dealt just to the left of the dealer...
(or three-handed whist, an extra hand that is dealt just to the left of the dealer) - VintVintVint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others...
is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist - Trinidadian Whist (a whist game variation with some bridge aspects played in Trinidad and Tobago; the teams are determined by whatever card the winning bidder calls for to be his partner for that round, there is no dummy and the first card played by the winning bidder is trump)
Whist drive
A whist drive is a social event, popular in Britain, at which progressive games of whist are played.Literary references
- Barbey d'AurevillyJules Amédée Barbey d'AurevillyJules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anything supernatural...
, in a story from Les diaboliquesLes Diaboliques (book)Les Diaboliques, is a collection of short stories written by Barbey d'Aurevilly and published in France in 1874. Each story features a woman who commits an act of violence, or revenge, or some other crime. It is considered d'Aurevilly's masterpiece.D'Aurevilly, due to the boredom induced by...
, The Underside of the Cards of a Game of Whist, traces the secret affair between a lady and an expert whist player, leading to an horrific act. - Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
briefly mentioned whist in his tale "The Murders in the Rue MorgueThe Murders in the Rue Morgue"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been claimed as the first detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination". Two works that share some similarities predate Poe's stories, including Das...
", alluding to the analytical mind needed to play:
"[...]
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, [...]"
- Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
uses whist playing to describe Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days:
"[...]
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. ForesterC. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
's Horatio HornblowerHoratio HornblowerHoratio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
series. Hornblower is featured as living off his winnings from playing whist while a half-pay LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, and famously playing whist with subordinate officers before a battle. - The same is true in the Richard SharpeRichard Sharpe (fictional character)Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean....
series by Bernard CornwellBernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
and was used mainly to portray gambling much the same way poker is today. - Whist is often enjoyed by Jack AubreyJack AubreyJohn "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
and Stephen Maturin whilst at sea in the Aubrey–Maturin seriesAubrey–Maturin seriesThe Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
of novels by Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
. - In ScarlettScarlett (novel)Scarlett is a novel written in 1991 by Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. The book debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list, but both critics and fans of the original novel found Ripley's version to be inconsistent with the literary quality of Gone with...
, the sequel to Gone with the WindGone with the WindThe slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
, Alexandra RipleyAlexandra RipleyAlexandra Ripley, née Braid was an American writer best known as the author of Scarlett , the sequel to Gone with the Wind. Her first novel was Who's the Lady in the President's Bed?...
mentions several times that Scarlett O'HaraScarlett O'HaraScarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
is an extremely skillful whist player. - Miss. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Wickham discuss Mr. Darcy during a whist party in chapter 16 of Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Pride and PrejudicePride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
. The game is also mentioned in her books Mansfield ParkMansfield ParkMansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
, EmmaEmmaEmma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among...
, and Sense and SensibilitySense and SensibilitySense and Sensibility, published in 1811, is a British romance novel by Jane Austen, her first published work under the pseudonym, "A Lady." Jane Austen is considered a pioneer of the romance genre of novels, and for the realism portrayed in her novels, is one the most widely read writers in...
. - In Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
'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 GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
's poema, "Dead SoulsDead SoulsDead Souls is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. Gogol himself saw it as an "epic poem in prose", and within the book as a "novel in verse". Despite supposedly completing the trilogy's second part, Gogol...
". - In the opening chapter of Leo TolstoyLeo TolstoyLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
's novella The Death of Ivan IlyichThe Death of Ivan IlyichThe Death of Ivan Ilyich , first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, and is considered to be one of the masterpieces of his late fiction, written shortly after his religious conversion of the late 1870s.-Characters:...
the characters contrast the solemnity of the funeral ceremony with the desire to escape and play whist. - In MiddlemarchMiddlemarchMiddlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion George Henry Lewes...
by George EliotGeorge EliotMary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...
, 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 his autobiography, Groucho and Me, Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
talks about playing whist with an ex-girlfriend during a chapter on her husbands insomnia. - In The Fiery CrossThe Fiery Cross (novel)The Fiery Cross is book five in the best-selling Outlander series, written by Diana Gabaldon. The stories center around a time-travelling 20th-century doctor and her 18th-century Scottish husband , and are located in Scotland, France, and America.The heroine of the bestselling Outlander, Claire,...
, Diana GabaldonDiana GabaldonDiana J. Gabaldon is an American author of Mexican-American and English ancestry. Gabaldon is the author of the Outlander Series. Her books they contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and science fiction.-Early life and science career:Diana J. Gabaldon was...
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 ClayHenry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
, Carl SchurzCarl SchurzCarl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
notes that “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.” - In DC Comics'DC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
StarmanStarman (Jack Knight)Starman is fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. He is the son of the original Starman, Ted Knight...
series it is revealed that The Shade is a whist player, and enjoyed playing with Brian SavageScalphunter (DC Comics)Scalphunter is a fictional character, a Wild West hero in the DC Comics Universe. Scalphunter first appeared in Weird Western Tales #39 and was created by Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando.-Fictional character biography:...
(it was also noted that The Shade would regularly win at whist, while Savage would regularly win at poker).
See also
- BridgeContract bridgeContract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
- NapoleonNapoleon (card game)Napoleon or Nap is a straightforward trick taking game in which players receive five cards each; whoever bids the highest number of tricks chooses trumps and tries to win at least that many. It is a simplified relative of Euchre, and with many variations throughout Northern Europe...
- Skat
- Solo whistSolo whistSolo Whist, sometimes known as simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game whose direct ancestor is the 17th century Spanish game Hombre, based on the English Whist. Its major distinctive feature is that one player often plays against the other three. However, players form temporary alliances with...
- TarneebTarneebTarneeb , is a popular plain trick-taking card game played in various middle eastern countries, most notably in the countries of the Fertile Crescent and Tanzania...
- VintVintVint is a Russian card-game, similar to both bridge and whist and it is sometimes referred to as Russian whist. Vint means a screw in Russian, and the name is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others...