| Origin | England |
|---|---|
| Players | 3 |
| Skill(s) required | Tactics & Strategy |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Playing time | 25 min. |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Whist, Bridge | |
Dummy whist is one of the many variants of the classic trick-taking card game Whist. The general play of Dummy whist is similar to that of Bid whist, with two notable exceptions. Bid whist is played by four players, whereas dummy whist is played by only three.[1] Secondly, instead of dealing a kitty, a dummy hand is dealt to be on the team of the player who wins the auction.
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Dummy whist is a modality of Whist for three players. The dummy is dealt thirteen cards, but the cards are kept facedown until after the auction, at which point, the dummy's cards are turned face-up, facing a position opposite that of the declarer. After the dummy is turned face-up, the declarer declares a trump suit if he bid "uptown" or "downtown", or he declares uptown or downtown if he bid no-trump. If playing with jokers, the dummy is dealt fifteen cards instead of the usual thirteen, and the declarer is allowed to discard two cards from the dummy's hand before turning it face-up.
In dummy whist, after all of the cards have been dealt, but prior to the beginning of game play, each player may submit a bid. If a player chooses not to bid, the player may pass. The bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left and proceeds clockwise to each player in turn, ending with the dealer. In order to bid, a player must make a bid that is 'better' (see below) than the best bid made by a previous player for the current hand. Unlike bridge, no deals are passed. If the first three players pass, the dealer (the last player) must make a bid. Unlike in bid whist, dummy whist has no minimum bid.
A player's bid consists of a declaration of the minimum number of books (over the required 6 books) that will be taken (turned) by that player and their partner, followed by an indication either that the player wishes there to be no trump suit for the current hand, or of whether the player wishes for higher ranking or for lower ranking cards to be victorious in the current hand.
The objective of the play is to win tricks. A trick consists of four cards, one from the hand of each player, and one from the dummy, in rotation, with the dummy sitting across from the declarer, the first card played to a trick generally being called the lead. A player is required to follow suit to the card led, if possible. Failure to follow suit when a player has a card of the suit played is called a renege (see Renege below). If the player cannot follow suit, he may play any card. Some people play that if the hand is a no trump hand and a player has a joker in his hand, he must throw off the joker the first time a suit is played and the player does not have a card of the suit played. Other players play that if the hand is a no-trump hand, players who have a joker must turn in the joker for one of the discarded cards in the kitty. Many people do not like to play the latter way, because it gives an indication of what suit the bid-taker has discarded.
For trump bids, it is generally preferred to cut a suit with a trump card when the player cannot follow the suit controlled by the opponents. The highest bidder always plays the first lead card in the game. After this play, the player who won the trick leads off to the player seated at his left. The play continues in this way until all thirteen tricks have been played.
When a trick is completed, i.e., four cards played, a member of the side which won the trick takes the four cards, turns them face down, and places them in front of him in a row. It is customary for one player to take in all the tricks won by his side. The tricks should be kept separated from one another so that any previous trick can be referred to, if necessary. A player may turn and look back at the last trick until he or his partner has led or played to the next player. After that, he may not look at any previous tricks, unless a renege is called.
If a player fails to follow suit, e.g., clubs are led, player has a club, but plays a spade (or some other suit), the player has reneged. It is up to the opposing players to spot the renege and call it. If a renege is called, the player calling it must name the specific book where the renege occurred. If the player successfully calls the renege, the team reneging loses three tricks. If the player calls a renege and cannot identify the exact book where the renege occurred, then the team calling the renege loses three tricks.
Each player begins the game with a score of zero. At the end of each hand, the declarer either wins points by making their bid or loses by failing to take enough books to satisfy their bid (known as being set). The game ends when a player wins by achieving a cumulative score of twenty-one or more.
At the end of each hand, the books that the player that won the bid are counted. There are 13 altogether, corresponding to the 13 cards played by each player. Each book won above six counts toward the player's bid. In order to make his bid, the declarer must take at least the number of books equal to six plus their bid.
Note: If Player A won the bid with a 5 High they must take 11 tricks (Initial 6 plus his bid of 5) to make his bid. If he only takes 10 books Player A would have failed his bid (also known as being set) and both opposing players would gain 5 points. On the other hand if Player A made 12 books on his 5 bid, he scores a total of 6 points for that hand.
Double dummy[2] is played by two players, each having a Dummy or exposed hand for his partner. The laws of the game do not differ from Dummy Whist, except in the following special Law :—There is no misdeal, as the deal is a disadvantage.
The players sit opposite each other and four hands are dealt, leaving the dead hands face down. Each player has the option of playing with the cards, or throwing the hand in and taking the dead hand on his right instead. If one player playes the hand as dealt, all scores are doubled and if both, they are quadrupled.