How many players do you need for Bid Whist?

Bid Whist is a four-player game played in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting across from each other so the teams alternate around the table. It uses a 54-card deck (a standard 52-card pack plus two distinct jokers). Each player is dealt 12 cards and six cards form the kitty in the middle.

What is the difference between uptown and downtown in Bid Whist?

Uptown and downtown set which direction cards rank. In an uptown hand, high cards win: Ace is high, down through King, Queen, Jack and so on to 2. In a downtown hand, low cards win: the Ace drops below the 2, so the ranking runs Ace (low), 2, 3, up to King. The winning bidder chooses the direction to suit their hand, so a hand full of low spot cards becomes powerful downtown.

How does the kitty work in Bid Whist?

The kitty is six cards dealt face down to the center. The player who wins the auction picks up all six, combines them with their 12 cards, and then discards exactly six face down. Those buried cards count as the bidding side's first book. The kitty lets the bidder shape their hand by strengthening trump, dumping a weak suit, or creating a void.

Where do the jokers rank in Bid Whist?

When the hand has a trump suit (uptown or downtown), the two jokers become the highest trumps, above the Ace: the big joker is the single best card and the little joker is second, regardless of direction. In a no-trump hand the jokers have no value and cannot win a book.

What does the bid number mean in Bid Whist?

There are 13 books in a hand and each side is credited with 6 by default, so the bid number is how many books above 6 your team promises to win. A bid of 3 contracts for 9 books, a bid of 5 for 11, and a bid of 7 (a Boston) for all 13. Each bid must beat the last, and a no-trump bid outranks a trump bid of the same number because no-trump scores double.

How do you win a game of Bid Whist?

Games are typically played to a cumulative score of 7 points. After each hand the bidding side scores one point per book won above 6 if they make their contract, or has the bid value subtracted if they fall short. No-trump hands score double. The first team to reach +7 wins, while a team that drops to -7 loses.

Is Bid Whist free to play online at Love Card Games?

Yes. You can play Bid Whist free at Love Card Games right in your browser, with no download and no signup. Play against smart bots that follow the standard rules, including bidding, uptown and downtown, jokers as top trumps, and the kitty, or play multiplayer with friends.

How to Play Bid Whist: Bidding, Uptown vs Downtown, Trump & the Kitty

Bid Whist is a fast, social trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, built around an auction, two jokers, a six-card kitty, and the wonderful twist that low cards can beat high ones. This guide walks through the full rules: the deal, how bidding works, what uptown and downtown mean, how trump and the jokers rank, and how partners win books together.

What is Bid Whist?

Bid Whist is a partnership trick-taking card game for four players, hugely popular in African American communities and a staple of family gatherings for generations. Two teams of two sit across from each other, so play alternates between the partnerships around the table. Like its cousins, the game is about winning tricks, but Bid Whist adds three signature ingredients: a real auction where you commit to a target, a choice between "uptown" and "downtown" card ranking, and two jokers that become the most powerful trumps in the deck.

If you already enjoy bidding-and-trump games such as Spades, Euchre, or plain Whist, the rhythm will feel familiar. What makes Bid Whist special is that the winning bidder gets to choose the entire shape of the hand: the trump suit (or none), whether high or low cards win, and which six cards to bury after picking up the kitty.

Setup and the deal

Players: 4, in two fixed partnerships of 2. Partners sit opposite each other.
Deck: a standard 52-card pack plus two distinct jokers (a "big" joker and a "little" joker), for 54 cards total.
The deal: each player receives 12 cards, dealt clockwise. Six cards are set aside face down in the middle as the kitty (also called the widow). The first four and last four cards dealt cannot go into the kitty, but otherwise the dealer may slip kitty cards out at any point during the deal.

So 48 cards reach the players' hands and 6 wait in the kitty. The dealer position rotates each hand.

How bidding works

After the deal, players bid in turn, starting with the player to the dealer's left and going clockwise. The auction goes around the table only once. Each bid is a number from 3 to 7 followed by a direction: uptown, downtown, or no trump.

The number does not mean "tricks" directly. There are 13 books (tricks) in a hand counting the kitty, and each side is assumed to win 6 by default. The bid number is how many books above 6 your partnership promises to win. So a bid of 3 contracts for 9 books, a bid of 5 contracts for 11 books, and a bid of 7 contracts for all 13.

Each bid must be higher than the last. When two bids share the same number, a no-trump bid outranks a trump (uptown/downtown) bid of the same value, because no-trump hands score double and are harder to make. If the first three players all pass, the dealer is forced to bid at least the minimum. The highest bidder's team becomes the "bidding side" and sets the contract.

Uptown vs downtown

This is the choice that gives Bid Whist its flavor. After winning the auction, the bidder declares the direction (and the trump suit, if any). It decides which way the cards rank in every suit:

Uptown: high cards win. Ace is high, then King, Queen, Jack, 10 down to 2. This is the familiar ranking from most card games.
Downtown: low cards win. The order flips so the Ace is low (it sits below the 2), then 2, 3, 4 up to King. In a downtown hand the Ace is still effectively the best non-joker card, but everything in between is upside down.

Choose the direction that matches your hand. If you are loaded with Aces and Kings, bid uptown; if you are stacked with low spot cards, downtown turns your "junk" into winners. Beginners often forget the direction mid-hand, so it pays to say it out loud and keep it in mind on every trick.

Trump and the jokers

If the winning bid is uptown or downtown, the bidder names a trump suit. Trump beats any card of the other three suits, no matter the rank. Within the trump suit the cards follow the chosen direction, with one crucial exception: when there is a trump suit, the two jokers become the top two trumps, above the Ace. The big joker is the single best card in the deck and the little joker is second. This is true whether the hand is uptown or downtown.

In a no-trump hand there is no trump suit at all, and the jokers are worthless: they cannot win a book and are usually just discarded when convenient. The bidder still chooses uptown or downtown to set the card ranking for the four plain suits. No-trump hands are worth double, which is why they sit at the top of the bidding ladder.

The kitty

Winning the bid earns you the kitty. The winning bidder picks up all six face-down cards, adds them to their 12 for a temporary hand of 18, then discards exactly six cards face down. Those six buried cards count as the first book already won by the bidding side, so they effectively bank a trick before play even starts.

The kitty is a powerful tool. Use it to fill out your trump suit, dump losers from a weak side suit, or create a void so you can trump in early. Smart kitty management is one of the biggest edges in the game, because you alone decide what your hand looks like before the first card is led.

Playing the hand: tricks and books

The winning bidder leads the first trick. Any card may be led, and the other three players must follow suit if they can. If you cannot follow, you may play anything, including a trump. Each won trick is called a book.

If no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led wins (high or low depending on uptown/downtown).
If one or more trumps are played, the highest trump wins, with the jokers beating everything.

The winner of each book leads the next one, and play continues until all 12 cards in each hand are gone. Failing to follow suit when you could is a renege; the standard penalty is that three of the reneging team's books are transferred to the other side, which can swing an entire hand.

Partnership play

Because partners sit opposite each other, you are constantly working as a team to gather the books you bid. You cannot tell your partner what to play out loud ("talking across the board" is against the rules), but experienced players signal through the cards they choose and the order they play them, hinting at where their strength lies. The basics of good partnership play are to support your partner's leads, hold back trumps to capture key tricks, and avoid stepping on a book your partner is already winning.

Scoring and winning the game

After each hand, count the bidding side's books. If they take at least their contracted total (6 plus the bid), they score one point for every book above 6 that they actually won. If they fall short, they are "set" and the value of their bid is subtracted from their score instead.

No trump doubles: a successful (or failed) no-trump hand scores double.
Seven bid (Boston): a bid of 7 means winning all 13 books. It is the biggest gamble in the game; making it can win the whole match, while conceding even one book to the opponents loses it.

The game is typically played to a cumulative score of 7 points. The first team to reach +7 wins; a team that sinks to -7 loses. Each hand is a small auction-and-trick battle, but the bidding ladder and the doubling no-trump bids mean a single bold hand can decide everything.

Bid Whist vs other trick-taking games

If you like the bid-and-trump structure, you will feel at home in several neighbors. Spades fixes the trump suit and adds the famous Nil bid. Euchre is a snappier four-player partnership game with a chosen trump and bowers. For a no-trump avoidance twist, try Hearts, and for more auction-style trick play explore Whist or Callbreak. Each shares DNA with Bid Whist while offering its own flavor.

Play now

Now that you know the bidding ladder, uptown versus downtown, the jokers, and the kitty, the best way to learn is to deal a few hands. Play Bid Whist free in your browser at Love Card Games against smart bots or real people, with multiplayer support and no download or signup required, or browse the full lineup on the homepage.