Knockout Whist
Knockout whist is a popular British game for up to seven players. The simplest rules are as follows: Deal seven cards to each player, and turn the next card to establish the trump suit. Dealer leads first, and tricks are played as in classic whist. See full list on cardgames.io. Whist has popular variations such as Bid Whist and Knockout Whist. What is the highest card rank in Whist? In Whist, Aces are the highest rank, and 2s are the lowest. How to play 4-player Whist? 4-player Whist removes the 1 st phase, but retains the rule that players must follow suit if possible.
Types of Whist
This page describes the classic game of Whist which was played widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. Whist was derived from the older game Ruff and Honours, and in the twentieth century, bridge has displaced whist as the most popular card game internationally among serious card players. Nevertheless, whist continues to be played in Britain, often in local tournaments called 'whist drives'.
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:
- Knockout whist (a children's game in which a player who wins no trick is eliminated)
- Solo whist (played in Britain; a game where individuals can bid to win 5, 9 or 13 tricks or to lose every trick)
- Whist (Wiezen) and Suit Whist (Kleurenwiezen) (Belgian games similar to Solo Whist, but more elaborate)
- Bid whist (a partnership game with bidding, played in the USA)
- Minnesota whist (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)
- Romanian whist (a game in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will take - similar to Oh Hell)
- Israeli whist (another game somewhat related to Oh Hell, in which one tries to bid the exact number of tricks one will take)
- German Whist (a British two-player adaptation of Whist without bidding)
- Danish Whist, which exists in two forms: one with fixed partnerships, and one in which partners are chosen by calling an ace.
Whist Rules
The classic game of whist is a plain-trick game without bidding for 4 players in fixed partnerships. Although the rules are extremely simple there is enormous scope for scientific play, and in its heyday a large amount of literature about how to play whist was written.
Players
There are four players in two fixed partnerships. Partners sit facing each other. The game is played clockwise.
Cards
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.
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealer's left and cut by the player to dealer's right. The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time so that each player has 13. The final card, which will belong to the dealer, is turned face up to indicate which suit is trumps. The turned trump remains face up on the table until it is dealer's turn to play to the first trick.
It is traditional to use two packs of cards. During each deal, the dealer's partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right. The dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from the left and pass them across to the right to be cut. Provided all the players understand and operate it, this procedure saves time and helps to remember whose turn it is to deal, as the spare pack of cards is always to the left of the next dealer.
Play
The player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick. Any card may be led. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick. Players must follow suit by playing a card of the same suit as the card led if they can; a player with no card of the suit led may play any card. The trick is won by the highest trump in it - or if it contains no trump, by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next.
Scoring
When all 13 tricks have been played, the side which won more tricks scores 1 point for each trick they won in excess of 6.
The partnership which first reaches 5 points wins the game. This will normally take several deals.
Variations
Honours
Knockout Game
Honours are the top four trumps - A K Q J. A partnership which between them held all four honours in their hands score an extra 4 points, which they claim at the end of the play. A side which held three of the four honours can claim 2 points for them. A team which at the start of the already has 4 points towards the 5 required for game cannot score honours on that deal.
If on the same deal one side scores for tricks and the other side scores honours, the tricks are scored first. That means that if both sides would have reached 5 or more points, it is the side scoring for tricks that wins the game.
Although scoring honours was part of the traditional game, nowadays many players do not count them. Scoring for honours introduces a larger luck element into the game.
Determination of Trumps
Instead of determining trumps by facing the last card in the deal, an alternative is to fix the trump suit in advance. In this case it is normal to go through the trump suits in a fixed sequence - for the first deal hearts are trumps, for the second deal diamonds, then spades, then clubs, then hearts again, and so on. This method is commonly used in tournaments, such as whist drives.
It is also possible to introduce no trumps into the sequence - so that every fifth hand is played without trumps.
Scoring
The number of points required for game varies. In America a target of 7 was customary. In Britain the game was 5 points up, but it was usual to play a rubber which was the best of three games - that is, the winners were the first side to win two games. There was also 'Long Whist' in which game was 10 points.
When playing a tournament, it is inconvenient to have people at different tables play varying numbers of deals before moving. Therefore it is usual to play a fixed number of deals, rather than a game. Each player's score is the total number of odd tricks (tricks above six) that their side has taken over the deals played.
Other Whist WWW Sites
Doncaster Whist Club is an active and friendly club that runs whist drives in various formats four evenings per week.
Rules of classic Whist are also available at the Card Game Heaven web site.
The collection HOYLE Card Games for Windows or Mac OS X includes a Whist program, along with many other popular games.
You can play classic Whist online at CardzMania.com.
You can download a freeware classic Whist program from Thanos Card Games.
Whist can be played online at TrapApps.
Jean-François Bustarret's page Le Whist has rules in French.
AOL games (formerly games.com / Masque publishing) has an online Whist game.
With the Whist program from Special K Software you can play classic Whist against computer opponents.
At DKM Whist from the CardSharp suite you can play Whist online against three computer opponents.
This page is based on contributions from Nick Wedd, C. Kroll, Kevin Ammerman, Max Madhax, Nic Cleveland, Chris Gibbs and Mike Shaffer.
Introduction
This is a simple plain-trick game. It is often played as a children's game but it has enough interesting tactics that it is also played by adults, sometimes for small stakes.
In Britain it is called Knockout Whist, or sometimes just Trumps. In North America it is known by other names including Scrounge or Rat or Rat **** where the **** stands for various vulgar words, according to the taste of the players.
A session consists of seven hands of diminishing size.
Players and Cards
Any number from two to seven may play. A standard 52-card pack is used, with four suits ranking from high to low A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.
Play
A player is selected to deal, and deals seven cards each, clockwise. The uppermost of the undealt cards is turned face upwards to indicate the trump suit.
The player on dealer's left leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit if they can, otherwise they may play any card. Each trick is won by the highest trump in it; otherwise by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of a trick leads to the next trick.
After the first hand, a second hand is dealt by the next player in order around the table, with only six cards each. The game continues like this, with one fewer card per player on each hand, until the final hand consists of one card each.
The winner of most tricks on a hand chooses the trump suit on the next hand after looking at their cards. If there is a tie for who took most tricks, the players involved in the tie cut cards for the right to choose trumps.
The Knockout
A player who takes no tricks at all in a hand is knocked out, is dealt no more cards, and takes no further part in the game.
There is one exception to the rule about being knocked out: the first player during the game who takes no tricks on a hand is not knocked out immediately but is awarded the 'dog's life'. On the following hand, she is dealt just one card, and may decide on which trick to play it. In the course of the play, a player 'on a dog's life' may, when it is her turn to play, either play her card or knock on the table to indicate that she wishes to keep it for a later trick. If she is the player on the dealer's left, she is not compelled to lead her card to the first trick; she may either do so, or knock, allowing the next player to lead.
If two or more players take no tricks on the same deal, no one having previously used the dog's life, these players get one dog's life each. Apart from this case, there is only one dog's life available during the game. Players who take no tricks in later deals are eliminated immediately.
If a player on a dog's life manages to take a trick with her card, the player on her left leads to the next trick, and the dog's life player is dealt a normal hand on the next deal, and treated like the other surviving players. If the dog's life player doesn't manage to win a trick, she is knocked out of the game, like anyone else who takes no trick.
Since the right to lead to the first trick is an advantage, it is fair for everyone in turn to have this opportunity. Therefore, if the player to dealer's left is knocked out, this player should deal the next hand before leaving the game. This way the player to the left of the one who was knocked out is not deprived of the chance to play the first card of the next hand.
Winning the Game
Knockout White Rose
The game is won by the winner of the one trick on the final hand. Or if all but one of the players are knocked out before this, the surviving player is the winner.
Advice on Play
In choosing trumps, always choose the longest suit. From
Clubs 6
Spades K Q
Hearts 6 5 4
make hearts trumps.
In choosing between suits of the same length, do not choose a suit with very high cards in it, as these may well win tricks even if they are not trumps. From
Clubs A Q
Spades 8 6
Hearts 4
make spades trumps.
Variations
- Many play without the dog's life. Anyone who takes no trick is immediately out of the game.
- As an alternative, some play that no one can be eliminated in the first deal: a player who takes no trick on the first deal is dealt a full hand of 6 cards in the second deal. From the second deal onwards, anyone who takes no trick is eliminated.
- Some play that anyone who is eliminated should stand up and shout 'Rat ****'.
- All players chip in 1 unit to start play (normally the unit stake is 5p)
- The winner of each round becomes the dealer, chooses trumps and also leads to the first trick of the next round.
- All players who successfully win a trick in a round chip in again to play the next round.
- On the very first occasion that someone fails to win a trick they are offered the dog's life which is a 'whole hand' (e.g. 6 cards for hand 2 etc.) and is bought for one unit - in other words they can play in the next round on the same terms and at the same price as the other players. If on this first occasion there is more than one player failing to win a trick all such players are also offered a dog's life; however after this first occasion, no more dog's lives are offered to other players.
- Should a player with a dog's life fail again to win a trick, he is offered 'Parish' for the next round for the cost of 1 unit. That player is dealt a single card to be played to any trick in that round.
- Again, should the 'Parish' card fail, the player can buy a 'Blind parish' for another unit, being another single card. This time the player cannot look at the card but may play it 'blind' to any trick in the round.
- During play any draws are settled by cutting the cards. The winner of the final round, or the last survivor of the game takes the pot.
Variant. Occasionally the game is played so that every player is entitled to take 1 dog's life, 1 Parish & 1 Blind parish if they wish. This usually means that everyone is kept in the game longer with more people reaching the final one-card round with more money in the pot.
Knockout Whist Software
Mana Battery publishes online games for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Windows Phone, IOS and Android, including a Knockout Whist game to play online or against the computer.
With the Whist program from Special K Software you can play Knockout Whist against computer opponents.