How to Play Whist: Card Game Rules for 4 Players (and 2 or 3)
Nov 9, 2026 · The Editors
How to play whist step by step: partnerships, dealing, trumps, following suit, winning tricks and scoring, plus how to play whist with 2 players (German whist) and 3 players (knockout whist).
Whist is the grandparent of bridge and spades, and the most important trick-taking game in English history. It was played in eighteenth-century coffee houses, written up by Edmond Hoyle in 1742, and is still played at whist drives today. The rules fit on a postcard; the skill lies in remembering cards and reading your partner.
What you need
One standard 52-card deck, no jokers, and four players in two partnerships. Partners sit opposite each other. Cards rank Ace high, down to 2.
How to play whist card game with 4 players
1. Deal. The dealer deals all 52 cards one at a time, so each player has 13.
2. Trumps. In classic whist, the dealer's last card is turned face up to show the trump suit, and goes back into the dealer's hand at their first turn. (Many whist drives instead rotate trumps through the suits in a fixed order, hand by hand, so check your local rule.)
3. Leading. The player to the dealer's left leads any card to the first trick.
4. Following suit. Each player in turn must follow suit if they can. If they cannot, they may play a trump or throw away any other card.
5. Winning the trick. The highest trump wins the trick; if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads to the next trick.
6. Thirteen tricks. Play all thirteen tricks. One player from each partnership gathers their side's tricks.
How whist is scored
The first six tricks a partnership wins are called the book and score nothing. Each trick after that scores one point. So a partnership with 9 tricks scores 3.
| Tricks won | Points |
|---|---|
| 6 or fewer | 0 |
| 7 | 1 |
| 9 | 3 |
| 13 | 7 |
Short whist is played to 5 points; American whist usually to 7. Older English rules also scored honours — points for holding the Ace, King, Queen and Jack of trumps — but most modern players leave them out.
How to play whist with 2 players (German whist)
German whist is the best two-player version.
- Deal 13 cards each. Put the rest face down as a stock and turn the top card face up; its suit is trumps for the whole hand.
- The non-dealer leads. Normal whist rules apply: follow suit if you can.
- The winner of each trick takes the face-up card from the stock; the loser takes the next card face down, without showing it. Turn up a new card.
- Once the stock is gone, play the final 13 tricks. Only these last 13 tricks score.
The first half is all about winning the cards you want; the second half is the real game.
How to play whist with 3 players (knockout whist)
Knockout whist suits three or more players. Deal seven cards each in the first round; cut a card for trumps. Anyone who wins no tricks is knocked out. The winner of the most tricks picks trumps for the next round, which is dealt one card fewer. The last player still in wins.
Whist strategy for beginners
Lead from your longest suit to set up winners later. Second hand plays low; third hand plays high — the old rule of thumb. Count trumps: there are thirteen, and knowing when they are gone is most of the game. And watch your partner's discards: throwing a low card often means "not this suit".
Thirteen cards is a big hand to hold all evening, so a set of card holders is welcome at any whist table. Once you know whist, try spades, euchre or hearts.
