WHIST (variant of whisk, so called from the whisking or sweeping of the tricks from the board, from Icel. crash, wisp of hay, rubber, 1/11G. wise, Ger. ll'isch, whisk; perhaps connected with Lat. virga, rod. switch). A game of cards played with a full pack by four persons, two in partner ship against, the other two. Its origin, like that of most card games, is very obscure. Un der its old Moll(' 01 1111111' it had Income so commonly understood that when Bishop Lati mer preached the Christmas sermon at Cam bridge in 1529, he had no doubt his hearers could follow his allegories based upon it. Its first serious study and the formulation of its rules came about by the fropient meetings of a party of whist-players at the Crown Coffee House in Bedford Row, London, of whom Edmond Hoyle (q.v.) was one. Up to this time it had been usual to discard the deuces, so that the tricks were often even, six on each side. By bringing the entire pack of cards into play they added the potent factor of the odd trick. In 1700 the laws were revised by the members of two eelebrated London clubs, Whites and Sann ders, and the rules so revised remained in exist ence until 1862, when 'Ca VP ndish' published his celebrated treatise, of which more than thirty editions have since been issued. The next im portant change in the methods of play was the adaptation by 'Cavendish' of the 'American leads,' a method suggested by Nicholas B. Trist of New Orleans, in 1883-84, to classify the vari ous scattered rules for leading, so as to make it possible to establish general principles. This system involves a systematic course of play when opening, and the continuing of leads from strong suits. The rules revised by the Portland Club of London govern whist, except where it is necessary to adopt those of the American 'Whist League. or whore 'German whist.' or 'Midge' (q.v.) is played. The two pairs of partners sit facing each other, and the entire fifty-two cards are dealt face down. thirteen to each player, the last card tieing turned face upward and its suit determining trumps; the player at the left of the dealer leads first, and the succeeding player must follow suit if he can. The highest card of
the suit led (unless some player not having a card of that suit has played a trump) wins the trick. The winner of the trick then leads, play ing any card of any suit he chooses, and so on in turn, until all the cards, making thirteen tricks, have been played.
Long whist, a game of ten points in which honors are scored, is now seldom played. Short whist, a game of five points, where honors are scored, is popular in England. The American game is of seven points without honors. Dummy whist is a game played by three persons. the fourth hand, called the dummy. hieing exposed on the table. The dummy deals at the beginning of each rubber, and is not liable to a penalty for a revoke, neither is the dummy's partner liable to any penalty for an error from which he can gain no advantage. lint otherwise the laws are the same as those of whist proper. Double dummy is played by two persons. each player having a dummy or exposed hand for his partner. In this game there is no misdeal and the laws are the same as for dummy whist. In Oupli rate whist the deal is played but once by each player, but in order to bring the play of teams, pairs, or individuals into comparison each hand is played over again. When it comes the turn of a player to play, he is required to place his card face up before him and let it remain until the others play to the trick, after which he turns it over with the ends toward the winners of the trick. 'When the deal is played, each player places his hand in the I ray or whatever device is employed, face downward, and the trump card is placed face upward 011 top of the dealer's hand. Hassian whist closely resembles the American game, except that there are no trumps and the scoring varies according to agreement, although it is generally as in lung whist.
There is a very large bibliography of whist which is easily accessible. The standard work is Cavendish, Principles of Whist, ?S'lated and Exptained (21st ed., London, 1902).