Is played by two players, each having a Dummy or exposed hand for his partner.
The Laws of the game do not differ from those of Dummy Whist.
HOW TO LEARN WHIST, AND TO BECOME A GOOD PLAYER.
Whist is a game that has been played during so many years, and has occupied the attention of so many clear-headed men, that certain principles of play have been established from long experience, as those best suited to gain success.
The first step towards becoming a good whist-player is to learn the leads; then what to play second and third in hand. These systems of play ought to be so thoroughly known that there is never a moment's hesitation as to the card to lead, or the card to play second or third in hand.
The leads, &c., are merely what we may term
the mechanical portions of the game, and do not require any reasoning on the part of the player. They have already been reasoned out by long and continued investigation. Immediately other cards have been played by the adversaries and the partner, then reason and judgment come in, so as to draw inferences from the cards played by each individual.
The object of a lead is—first, to secure tricks; secondly, to give your partner as much information as is desirable of the cards which you possess in the suit you have led. You may give him a very fair idea of the numerical strength or of the actual strength in high or court cards. It is always correct to assume that a partner, if even a moderately good player, leads from his strongest suit. Then comes the question, Of what does this suit consist? By the card led, an approximate idea is conveyed. By the cards played by the other players compared with those held in one's own hand, a more accurate opinion may be formed. A second round of the same suit often indicates exactly the cards held by the original leader. Such a conclusion, however, could be formed only when the original leader is a whist-player, and is not one of those persons who lead at random, according as their fancy at the time impels them.
In considering the lead, the selection, as a general rule, should be from the strongest suit, and the strongest suit is that consisting of the greatest number of cards. Thus five spades, consisting of knave, nine, eight, four, and two, is a stronger suit than is another consisting of king, queen, and one small card.
What card to lead of the strong suit is the next question, one object being to convey to the partner as much useful information as is possible. Two