Bid Whist
Bid books over six, uptown or downtown. Win the kitty, name trump, and let the jokers do the heavy lifting. 4 players, in partnerships.
How to play Bid Whist
- 1Two pairs of partners sit across from each other. The deck is 52 cards plus a big (red) and a little (black) joker. Everyone gets twelve cards and six go face down as the kitty.
- 2Starting left of the dealer, each player gets one bid or passes. A bid is a number from 3 to 7 (books over six you promise to take) plus a style: uptown (high cards win), downtown (low cards win) or no trump. A bid must top the last: a bigger number, or the same number at no trump over uptown or downtown. If the first three pass, the dealer must bid.
- 3The winning bidder picks up the kitty, names trump (or, at no trump, says whether high or low wins), then puts six cards back. Those six count as the bidder's side's first book.
- 4Uptown runs ace, king, queen… down to two. Downtown runs ace, two, three… up to king, so the ace is always best. With a trump, the big joker is the top trump and the little joker is next.
- 5At no trump the jokers belong to no suit and can't win. Play one when you can't follow suit, or lead it and let the next card set the suit.
- 6The bidder leads first. Follow suit if you can; otherwise play anything, including a trump. The highest trump wins, or the best card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
- 7Make your bid and score one point for every book over six. Fall short and lose your bid. No-trump hands count double. The first side to 7 wins; a side that sinks to −7 loses.
More trick-taking games
- Minnesota Whist 4 players
- Callbreak 4 players
- Twenty-Nine 4 players
- Truco 2–4 players
- Solo Whist 4 players
- Rikken 4 players
- Sergeant Major 3 players
- Tarneeb 4 players
All 225 games, free, in your browser.