Solo whist is the English form of Wiezen (Belgian or Ghent Whist), a simple game of the
Boston family played in the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. It is a
trick-taking
A trick-taking game is a card game, card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''Hand (card games), hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of ...
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
for four players in which players can bid to make eight tricks in trumps with any partner, or a solo contract playing against the other three players. Thus it combines both partnership and cut-throat play. Scoring is with small stakes won or paid out on each hand.
History
Wiezen or Belgian Whist, a simple form of Boston, has been played in the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
since the early 19th Century. The game was introduced to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1852 by a family of
Dutch Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. It quickly became popular in London's Jewish Community and was known as Solo Whist. In the early 1870s Solo Whist was played as a low stakes gambling game in London's sporting clubs as a replacement for more complex and slower games like Whist.
Solo Whist continued to be played as a social gambling game in homes and pubs during the 20th Century in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, however, its popularity declined as Contract Bridge's rose.
Dealing
The cards are
shuffled by the dealer and
cut by the player to dealer's right. Cards are usually dealt 3,3,3,3,1 with the last card to the dealer dealt face up to indicate the trump suit. Others deal with a rotating 4th card: 4333, 3433, 3343, 3334 or deal the cards singly as in Bridge.
Bidding
Beginning with the player to dealer's left, each competitor may make one of the bids in the table below or pass. If someone bids, then subsequent players can either pass or bid higher. The bidding continues around the table as many times as necessary until the contract is settled. If everyone passes or there is a Prop without a Cop then the hands are thrown in and dealt again.
Play
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, except in the case of an Abundance Declared in which case the bidder leads. Any card may be led and the other three players must follow suit where possible. A player with no card of the led suit may play a trump. If any trumps are played, then the trick is won by the highest trump card. If there are no trumps, it is won by the highest card in the suit that was led. The winner of the trick gets to lead to the next. Once a player has succeeded or failed in their bid, scores are adjusted. The deal then passes to the left and the next hand begins.
Variations
Morris Fagelson
A common version of Solo played among the Jewish community in Essex and East London show the following differences:
*A Prop and Cop pairing need to win seven tricks. Players only get one bid, except the person to the dealer's left who is able to bid twice, although, if someone Props without a Cop, they still have the option to upgrade to a Solo no matter where they sit. The Proposer picks the trump in an Abundance Declared hand.
Straight Solo
*In this variation, Prop and Cop is eliminated and only individual hands are allowed.
High-scoring Solo
*To increase the proportion of distributional hands, some play that the cards are only lightly shuffled, shuffled only at the beginning, after a bid of abundance, or not shuffled at all. This can be enforced with 1 point penalty for shuffling inappropriately.
Different Trumps
*To avoid turning the dealer's last dealt card for trump, a second pack can be used for cutting Trumps. Like any form of Whist, Solo Whist can be played with rotating trumps: H, D, C, S as in Bridge Whist. No Trumps can be included in the rotation. Or the game can be played with a fixed Trump suit as in
Spades.
Grand Slam Solo
*Uses rules for the Straight Solo and High-scoring Solo above, as well as the cyclical trump order described in "Different Trumps" above. Additionally, the "Abundance Declared" is replaced with two bids: A Petit Slam and a Grand Slam. The Petit Slam requires the bidder to make 12 tricks, and is scored above a Royal Abundance but below a Misère Ouverte. The Grand Slam, like an Abundance Declared, requires the bidder to make all 13 tricks, and ranks above all other bids. Both the Petit and Grand Slam bids allow the declarer to choose the trump suit.
Overtricks
*To spice up the game further, some play with a payment for overtricks in Prop and Cop, Solo and Abundance. In that case it is usual to set the basic score for a solo as four, five or six units, increasing the other scores in proportion. Each overtrick or undertrick in a Prop and Cop or Solo is worth an extra unit. In Abundance, overtricks gain an extra two units each, but undertricks cost only one unit each. There is no score for over or undertricks in Misère, Misère Ouverte or Abundance Declared.
Irish Solo
Solo Whist is not to be confused with Irish Solo, which is not related to Solo Whist, German Solo or Spanish Solo. It is a form of Cut-Throat Bid Whist for four players. The suit rankings are the same as
Contract Bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...
(NT,S,H,D,C) but the bids are for a number of tricks and denomination like in
500 or
Preferans
Preferans ( rus, преферанс, p=prʲɪfʲɪˈrans) or Russian Preference is a 10-card plain-trick game with bidding, played by three or four players with a 32-card Piquet deck. It is a sophisticated variant of the Austrian game Préférence ...
, not for odd tricks as in Bridge. So a bid of Six Spades is an undertaking to make six tricks and would be beaten by a bid of Six No Trumps or Seven Clubs. The winner of the auction is Declarer and plays solo against the other three players. A bid of Misère is an undertaking to win no tricks, and is equivalent in rank to a bid of 12 Tricks.
[Ander (2018), p. xx.]
Pot betting is sometimes played, with the pot equal to an agreed stake multiplied by the number of tricks bid. If Declarer makes their contract they are paid 1/3 the value of the pot by each of the other three players. If they fail they pay out 1/3 of the Pot to each of the other players.
In literature
In Robert W Service's poem "
The Shooting of Dan McGrew", Dan McGrew is playing Solo in the back of the bar. His bid is "Spread Misère" (Misère Ouverte).
Trivia
*The words "
Misère", "
Ouverte", "Grand", and "Petit" are
French and mean misery, open, large, and small, respectively. The hands Royal Abundance and Abundance Declared are also known as Abundance Royale and Abundance Declaree; Abundance is sometimes nicknamed Bundle.
See also
*
Skat
*
Ombre
Ombre (, pronounced "omber") or l'Hombre is a fast-moving seventeenth-century trick-taking card game for three players and "the most successful card game ever invented."
Its history began in Spain around the end of the 16th century as a four-p ...
*
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
*
Euchre
Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...
*
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* "Bird's Eye" (1881). ''Solo Whist''. Manchester: John Heywood.
* _ (1883). ''The Rules of Solo Whist: Derived from the Best Authorities''. Melbourne: Samuel Mullen.
* Ander, Tim (2018). ''How to Play Whist''.
*
*
Hoffmann, Professor (1891). "Solo Whist" i
''The Cyclopædia of Card and Table Games'' London: George Routledge. pp. 218–239.
* Wilks, Abraham S. (1894). "Solo Whist and its Rules" i
''The Whist Table'' ed. by "Portland". NY: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 401–466.
* Wilks, Abraham S. (1898)
''The Handbook of Solo Whist'' NY: Brentano.
* Wilks, Abraham S. and G. F. Pardon (c. 1888). ''How to Play Solo Whist''. NY: Scribner & Welford's.
External links
at
pagat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solo Whist
19th-century card games
Solo card games
Boston group
English card games