Whist

Whist is a game that was widely played in the 18th Century. It is a game that is played by four players in partnerships. Cards in the 18th century had no numbers printed on them. Whist is the earliest form of the modern game Bridge.

Definition of Whist per Encyclopedia.com
A 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.

Equipment:

Two 52 card decks - kept separate

Pencil and Paper for scoring

Play:

Four players play in two fixed partnerships. The partners sit facing each other and the game is played clockwise. Two standard 52 card decks are used.

The Deal

The player to the dealer’s left shuffles one deck of cards. The player on the dealer’s right cuts the cards. The dealer deals the cards one to each player in turn to a total of 13 cards each player. The final card – which is to the dealer – is dealt face up. This indicates which suit is TRUMPS. This card remains face up on the table until it is the dealer’s turn to play the first TRICK. The second deck of cards is shuffled by the dealer’s partner whenever the first deck is dealt. This second deck is then placed to the right. On the next hand the dealer picks up the cards from the left and passes them to the right to be cut. The second deck of cards is always to the left of the next dealer.

The Play

The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. The player may lead with any card. The players each play a card to the Trick in clockwise order. Players must play a card of the same suit as the care that was led – a player with no card of the same suit may play any card. The Trick is won by the highest trump in the Trick. If the Trick contains no trump then the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads the next Trick. Thirteen Tricks are played. The team that the most Tricks scores one point for each Trick won in excess of six. The first team to win five points wins the game. Several deals may be necessary to reach this score. The four top trumps are called Honours. These are A K Q J. A team that holds all four Honours in their hands between them scores 4 extra points which are claimed at the end of play. A team that holds three of the four Honours can claim 2 extra points. If a team has four of the five points needed to win at the start of the deal, the team may not claim Honourson that deal. If on the same deal one team scores on Tricks and the other Team scores on Honours, the Tricks are counted first and supercede the Honours. Honours is part of the traditional game.

Pope Joan & Poch

Pope Joan was a card game once very popular in Scotland. Although it involved gambling, it was popular during the Victorian era as a social activity, because it did not require the betting competition that occured in games like Poker. The earliest reference to Pope Joan dates from the 1730's, but very similar game boards were used in the German game "Poch" which is first recorded in 1441. Poch is one of the oldest identifiable card games. Two Early 16th century Poch boards are in the Bavarian State Museum, and another from 1535 is in the Victorian and Albert Museum, London. Poch is also the equivalent of "Glic" (one of the most frequently mentioned French games of the 15th and 16th centuries) as evidenced by a late 15th century Glic board surviving in a museum at Cluny, France. The name "Pope Joan" comes from an early myth that Pope John VIII was actually a woman. The secret supposedly came to light when the Pope fainted during a procession, and it was discovered that "he" was pregnant. In the game, the 9 of diamonds is always the "Pope." It was also nicknamed the "Curse of Scotland" probably because it resembles the 9 lozenges in the Dalrymple coat of arms. It was John Dalrymple who engineered Scotland's infamous Glencoe Massacre of 1692.

POPE-JOAN, a round game of cards, named after a legendary female Pope of the 9th century. An ordinary pack is used, from which the eight of diamonds has been removed, and a special round board in the form of eight compartments, named respectively Pope-Joan, Matrimony, Intrigue, Ace, King, Queen, Knave and Game (King, Queen and Knave are sometimes omitted). Each player – any number can play – contributes a stake, of which one counter is put into the divisions Ace, King, Queen, Knave and Game, two into Matrimony and Intrigue, and the rest into Pope-Joan. This is called "dressing the board." The cards are dealt round, with an extra hand for "stops," i.e. cards which stop, by their absence, the completion of a suit; thus the absence of the nine of spades stops the playing of the ten. The last card is turned up for trumps. Cards in excess may be dealt to "stops," or an agreed number may be left for the purpose, so that all players may have an equal number of cards. If an honor or "Pope" (nine of diamonds) is turned up, the dealer takes the counters in the compartment so marked. Sometimes the turning-up of Pope settles the hand, the dealer taking the whole pool. The Ace is the lowest card, the King the highest. The player on the dealer's left plays a card and names it, the player who has the next highest then plays it, till a stop is played, i.e. a card of which no one holds the next highest. All Kings are of course stops, also the seven of diamonds; also the cards next below the dealt stops, and the cards next below the played cards. After a stop the played cards are turned over, and the player of the stop (the card last played) leads again. The player who gets rid of all his cards first takes the counters in "Game," and receives a counter from each player for every card left in his hand, except from the player who may hold Pope but has not played it. The player of Ace, King, Queen or Knave of trumps takes the counters from that compartment. If King and Queen of trumps are in one hand, the holder takes the counters in "Matrimony", if a Queen and Knave, those in "Intrigue", if all three, those in the two compartments; if they are in different hands these counters are sometimes divided. Unclaimed stakes are left for the next pool. Pope is sometimes considered a universal "stop."

Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition

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Updated: December 10, 2006

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