Strategy
Whist Strategy & Tips
A practical strategy guide for whist: lead your longest suit, cash winners before they are trumped, count trumps, support your partner without overtaking, and read what the opponents discard.
Play WhistThe core idea
Memory and teamwork beat luck
Whist has no bidding and no trump choice, so the skill is entirely in play: remembering what has gone, choosing which card to spend, and working with a partner you cannot speak to. Almost every strong habit comes down to two ideas — keep count, and never waste a high card on a trick that is already won.
Eight habits
What good whist players do
- 01
Lead your longest side suit
A long suit outlasts the opponents' cards in it. Lead it early; once the others are out, your small cards in that suit become winners. If it is headed by a King or Queen, lead the top card, otherwise lead low to probe.
- 02
Cash Aces and Kings first
A top card in a side suit is only guaranteed while nobody can trump it. Play your master cards early, before an opponent runs out of the suit and trumps in.
- 03
Count the trumps
There are 13 trumps in every hand. Tally each one as it falls: when you know how many remain — and that you hold the highest — you can lead your trump winners without fear.
- 04
Second hand low, third hand high
Playing second, play low unless you can win cheaply — two players still act behind you. Playing third, go high: you are the last chance to beat the leading opponent before the fourth card lands.
- 05
Do not overtake your partner
If your partner is winning a trick and the player behind you cannot beat them, follow with your lowest card. Save your strength for tricks nobody else can win.
- 06
Trump with purpose
Trumping a side suit wins the trick, but the highest trump wins — an opponent playing after you can over-trump. Trump from the last seat, or with a high trump, and never waste a trump on a trick your partner has already won.
- 07
Read the discards
When an opponent discards instead of following suit, they are void in the led suit. What they choose to throw away tells you which suits they hold, so plan your next leads around it.
- 08
Use hint and undo to learn
Press the hint button and study why the computer would play that card, then undo and try another line. Replaying tricks you got wrong is the fastest way to improve.
Across a hand
How the approach shifts as the hand goes on
The habits above apply throughout; what changes is how much you know. See the how-to-play guide for the rules these tips build on.
Early tricks
Establish your long suit and cash sure winners. Note which high cards fall — they are the information the rest of the hand runs on.
Mid-hand
By the fifth or sixth trick you should know how many trumps are left. If you hold the master trump, start drawing out the opponents' remaining trumps.
The last three tricks
Only a handful of cards remain, and you may know exactly who holds each. Lead your certain winners and keep count of the book — every trick above six is a point.