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whistColumbia Encyclopedia entry: whist
Whist, card game for four players, those on opposite sides of the table being partners. The full pack of 52 cards is dealt. The dealer's last card is turned up to indicate trump, and after he draws this card in hand, the player on the left of the dealer leads. Cards rank from ace down through two, and the highest card of the suit or the highest trump wins the trick. Partners collect their tricks in one pile. Six tricks make a book, and each trick over the book in one game counts one point. The partners who first score seven points win. Famous variations include duplicate whist, bid whist, solo whist, and Norwegian whist. Whist originated in England, where it was a development of earlier games (e.g., triumph) that were known in the 16th cent. In 1742, Edmond Hoyle published A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, but it was Henry Jones (pseud. Cavendish) who first compiled (1862) a complete system of scientific whist play. The game spread to other European countries in the 19th cent., and tournaments were organized. Whist gave rise in the late 19th cent. to the game of bridge, which quickly surpassed the parent game in popularity.
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Wikipedia search results for: Whist
From Wikipedia, the free 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.
Apparently originating in the early 17th century, the now obsolete adjective whist and variant spelling wist, 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, of "According to Hoyle"...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: whist
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- Hoyle, Edmond
Hoyle, Edmond, 1672–1769, English writer on games, b. London. He codified the rules of whist in his book A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist (1742) and in successive editions of the book he ...
- Cavendish
Cavendish, pseud. of Henry Jones, 1831–99, English card game expert. Jones studied medicine, practiced in London, and retired in 1868. He became a leading authority on card games and was the f...
- bridge, card game
Bridge, card game derived from whist, played with 52 cards by four players in two partnerships. The cards in contract bridge rank from ace down to two; in bidding, suits rank spades, hearts, d...
