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5. The Auction in Bid Whist is Not Collaborative. Before the start of each hand in Spades, the two members of the team discuss their respective predictions about how many tricks they expect to win in that particular hand. One teammate might say: “I have two and a possible.” The other might chip in with “I have one and a possible,” and the team might decide to collectively bid to win four tricks. In contrast, in the Bid Whist auction, each member of the team must bid without communicating with his or her partner.

Bidding in Bid Whist is about analysis of the cards a player holds, but it is also about game strategy and imagination.  In formulating a bid, a player must consider, among other factors, the strength of the hand, the position in which the player bids, the “shape” of the player’s hand, the possibilities of the Kitty, and, perhaps most critically, the game situation. Even with a weak hand, for example, if the other team is in position to win the game by winning the auction and making its bid, it might be necessary for a player to make a “sacrifice” bid just to “live to fight another day.”

6. In Bid Whist, the numerical level of the winning bid is NOT a literal description of the number of tricks the winning bidder’s team must win.  As mentioned, in Spades, the numerical level of a team’s bid matches the number of tricks that team commits to win during that round. So if a team bids “four,” it commits to win four tricks during the hand. In Bid Whist, however, although the numerical level of the bid dictates how many tricks a team is committed to win, that number does not exactly match the number of tricks that must be won. Instead, each bid begins with a baseline promise to win six tricks, so the bid reflects the number of tricks that the team is committing itself to win in addition to the original six tricks in order to make its contract. Thus, a minimum level “four” bid represents a promise to win 10 tricks, a “five” bid is a promise to win 11 tricks and so on.

7. Seven is the critical number in Bid Whist. In Bid Whist, the first team to score seven points wins or the first team to “score” negative seven points loses—or, in Bid Whist parlance, goes “out the back door.” Generally speaking, the team that wins the auction scores one point for each trick it wins in that hand after it wins the initial six tricks if and only if it makes its bid. For example, if a team bids a “four,” it wins four points if it secures ten tricks. It wins five points if it secures 11 tricks, six if it secures 12 and seven if it secures all 13 tricks.

If the team that wins the auction fails to make its bid, that team loses the number of points equal to the numerical level of its bid. So if a team wins the auction with a “four” bid but wins nine tricks or fewer, that team loses four points. A team that wins the auction with a “no trump” bid scores double the number of points equal to the numerical level of its bid if it makes the contract, but it loses double the number of points equal to the numerical level of its bid if it gets set. For example, if a team bids a “four no,” and secures ten tricks, it wins eight points. But if it secures fewer than ten tricks on that bid, that team loses eight points.

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There you have it: ten fundamental principles that Spades and Bid Whist share in common (Part 1) and some of the key differences between the two games (Part 2 and above). Even if you have never played Bid Whist, you are now way more prepared to understand and excel at the game than I was when I first played. The Spades experts among you can probably identify key advantages of Spades that I neglected to mention. And those of you who already play Bid Whist can probably point out additional fundamental differences between Spades and Bid Whist. Either way, I hope that you will weigh in in the comments section and tell us about them!

I look forward to playing Bid Whist with you in Orlando!

Read Part 2 here. 

REGISTER NOW for the 2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion taking place August 28- September 1, 2014 in Orlando, Florida! For booking information visit here.

2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion

Saturday August 30th | 9a-5p

• Bid Whist Workshops & Free Play

• Cracker Barrel Step-Show

• Live Performances

Sunday August 31st | 12p-5p

• Bid Whist Tournament & Prizing

• Motown Gospel Revue’s

“Living the Gospel Roundtable” featuring Anita Wilson, Smokie Norful, Kierra Sheard & Vashawn Mitchel

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Our Favorite Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion Moments!
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