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September 26 -October 2, 1982
Bid Whist; A Rough Game For Those Who Love To Win
- Bid whist, a card game that
features two sets of partners;
trying to "out trump':' each,,
other, ranks as one of thet
area's most vicious non
contact sports. , ... ,
Winning at bid whist is a ;
matter of risking your card
playing self-image on the hope,
that the 12 l cards you're
holding, plus the 12 your part
ner has, will outrank the 24
cards that your opponents arc
playing. ; ;
i And you)can have your ego,
crushed by (an unsuspected
"set" which' meansthey called
your bluff and won. But worse
than that, , you can get your
card-playing self-esteem drag
ged - through the dust in a
12-card shutout called a
"Boston.'.' ,
: "But if losing at bid whist is
painful, viciously, painful,
winning is euphoric, ecstaiical-'
ly euphoric. - .'. ': ,
Patricia White knows both
sides, the highs, the lows, the
pain andjhe ecstasy of bid
whist. .
"I've; played since 1 was
17," she said during a recent
interview during a series of
regular Monday night games
at Durham's Odyssey Club on
Main Street at Five Points.
"Most of the time I was play
ing .with other kids in my'
neighborhood."
At this point, the other
players with whom Ms. White
would play this particular
Monday night .came in and
took their seats on opposite
sides of the square 'table bet
ween them. The sides had been,
chosen. The battle field was
ready.
Rhonda . Flowers, who
teaches emotionally disturbed
children and who has a 20-year
whist playing record, teamed!
with Ms. White. - , J
"My parents played whist,"
she said explaining her early
introduction to the game,
"and they taught my sister and
me to play because they need
ed partners."
The White-Flowers team
this night , would face Brcn
dalyn Patterson and her part
ner, Jackie Lyon.
The deal fell to Ms. Flowers
who grasped ' the v cards1
gracefully, fanned them in
f Ml r-v
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C'AIKillT IN A KKir.NDI.Y (iAMI. of hid whisl. m of the world s rHhsl iion-cuni.ui
sports, these fnr vounjj women settle down lo -an eveninu of fun uml "-.iiih-s. I mm left lo rihi .
thev are: Mses. Patricia While, llreiidolvn Pallerson. Rhonda Mowers ami Pairicia W hile.
several shuffles, kicked in a
j couple of mid-dock culs for
good measure, and set (he
. deck, in from of Ms. 1 yon for
a final "cut" before the deal
began.
"Meanwhile, the other
players explained their
.''whistology" experience.
"1 had played off and on
while I was growing up." said
Ms. Patterson.' a contract ad
ministrator at the Research
Triangle Institute. "But I
didn't start playing seriously
until I started goinu to Central
(NCCU)."
; Her partner, Ms. yon, a
registered nurse, said she's
been, playing whist for about
.10 years, and is a regular in the
Odyssey's Monday night whist
sessions.
i "It's a great chance to gel1
together with friends," she
said. "I think that whist is a
great form of relaxation. It's
inexpensive and we have a lot
of fun."
Ai - this point, a basic
"whistology" primer might be
helpful to the uninitiated,
aiding them in understanding
the power, the fun and the
agony thai is bid whist.
The game is played most I v
with a 54-card regular playing'
deck that includes two jokers"
one designated as the "big"
joker and one called the
"small" joker. But jokers are
hardly a joke because they are
the game's most powerful
cards. Only the big joker beats
the small one and nothing,
beats the big joker. All oilier
cards maintain (heir usual
Yank, for the most pari, such
as aces are better I haft kings,
arid kjngs are better than''
queens and so forth.
The game's objective is lo
have at least one partner of a
iwo-person team playing a
f ard that is better than the
other three cards played that
round. Each time you play the
best card, you get lo keep the
four cards plaved. Thev axe
called "a book."
F.ach team's goal in the
game is to make the "books"
they bid al the beginning, and
obviously your opponents are
trying lo slop that by playing
belter cards than you play.
The game begins with a
12-card deal, and the extra six
cards are laid face down in the
center of the table. That's the
'.'kitty." The "kiliy" is a
bonus. If you win the bidding1
war with the highest bid. you
gel to use the six cards in the
"kitlv" to improve your hand.
Bidding is tricky and is the
first indication I h al this game
called whist is nol a lea parlor
affair. Ii's friendly war.
You can bid 4. 5i 6, or X
books, bin those numbers arc;,
deceptive, because they don't
show that if 'you get the bid.'
you have lolurn the number
of books you bid, plus S addi
tional books. So if vou bid six.
you plan to turn It books. If,
you bid five, you'plan to turn
10 books. In other words.
there are 12 possible books in
every hand.
Though thete are several
variations of the bidding rules
in whist, basically you can bid
four types of playing styles
based upon your best analysis
of your hand. The styles are:
A straight bid. such as
"five," which means you will
nave one suit, such asl
diamonds, as your trump suit.
In this bid high cards win, and
anv diamond beats anv other!
card, but a higher diamond.
A "low" bid, such as
"five-lo-with," which means
you have made low cards, i.e..
ace, deuce, trey, winners and
you will name one suit as yourl
i rump. In this style, a four!
beats a King.
A "No-uptown" means
you won't, have' any trumps,
and high cards, i.e., aces.
kings, queens and jacks win.
Jokers have no value in this!
type of bid.
"No-downtown" is a style
ihe same as above, except that
in this style low cards win.
There are three basic skills
thai you must master to win
bidding wars. First, you must
learn to bid only what your
hand the 12 cards you arc
holding indicates you can
make. Secondly, you have to
give your partner a clear signal
of what your hand looks like
with your bid. Finally, you
have to run Ihe bid up high
enough that your opponents
won't take it from you.
Now back to the Odyssey.
The cards were all dealt.
The four were ready to play,
and they discussed their
stratesies for winning.
. "When. I'm bidding,". Ms.
Flowers said, "I will usually
bid to the way my-partner
bids. If she says 3 or 4 low, 1
know she probably has a good
hand, and I'll let her have it, if
I don't think the other side will
lake her out. But if I have a
really good hand, I'll lake the
bid myself."
Spreading her hand. and
studying it with a rather wry
look on her face. Ms. Patter
son said: "If my partner gets
the bid. I'll play my top
(rumps so thai my partner
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