How to Play German Whist

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

German Whist is a two-player trick-taking game that divides neatly into two distinct phases: a tactical acquisition round, then a straight fight for tricks. That two-stage structure gives the game a pleasing arc, rewarding both careful card reading and sound play under pressure.

It is compact enough for a kitchen table and quick enough for a lunch break, which is why it has long been a favourite of card players who want a genuine test of skill without needing a full table of four. No bidding, no complicated scoring variants, just clean, honest Whist mechanics scaled down to two.

A little history

The precise origins of German Whist are unclear. It does not appear in the earliest Whist literature and its connection to Germany is unverified by any widely documented source. It is best understood as one of several two-player adaptations of the classic English game of Whist that emerged traditionally as a way to enjoy trick-taking play without a full four-player table. It has been a staple of British card-game compendiums for well over a century.

Setting up

1. Remove the jokers from the deck. A standard 52-card pack is used throughout.
2. Shuffle thoroughly and deal 13 cards face down to each player, one at a time, alternating.
3. Place the remaining 26 cards face down in a central stock pile.
4. Turn the top card of the stock face up beside the pile. The suit of this card is trumps for the entire game.
5. The non-dealer leads the first trick.

How to play

1. The game is played in two phases. Phase One covers the first 13 tricks, during which the stock is gradually exhausted. Phase Two covers the final 13 tricks, played with the hands built during Phase One.
2. PHASE ONE. The non-dealer leads any card from their hand to the first trick. The other player must follow suit if able. If unable to follow suit, they may play any card including a trump.
3. A trick is won by the highest trump played to it, or, if no trump is played, by the highest card of the suit led. Ace ranks high throughout.
4. The winner of each trick takes the face-up card from beside the stock into their hand. The loser of the trick takes the next card from the top of the stock, sight unseen, into their hand.
5. Before the next trick is played, turn the new top card of the stock face up beside the pile. This is the card the winner of the next trick will claim.
6. The winner of the previous trick leads to the next trick. Hand sizes remain at 13 throughout Phase One.
7. When the stock is exhausted and the final face-up card has been claimed, Phase One ends. Players should each hold 13 cards.
8. PHASE TWO. The winner of the last trick in Phase One leads first. The same trick-taking rules apply: follow suit if able; a trick is won by the highest trump or, if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led.
9. No further cards are drawn. Play continues until all 13 tricks in Phase Two have been played.
10. Count the number of tricks each player won during Phase Two only. These are the tricks that count toward the result.

Winning and scoring

Only the tricks taken during Phase Two are counted for the result. The player who wins more than 6 of the 13 Phase Two tricks wins the game. If you wish to score across multiple games, record each player's Phase Two trick count: the winner scores the difference between the two totals (for example, 9 tricks to 4 scores 5 points to the winner). First to an agreed target, commonly 17 or 21 points, wins the match.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the face-up card: the winner of a trick takes it, and the loser takes the blind top card of the stock. Both cards are taken before the next lead is made, and the new top card is then turned face up. If a player accidentally sees the blind card before it is drawn, the standard ruling is that the card is shown to both players before being taken into the loser's hand, restoring informational parity.

Revoke rules follow standard Whist practice: if a player fails to follow suit when able, the revoke must be corrected before the trick is turned down if noticed in time. If the revoke is established (the trick has been turned and a card played to the next trick), the standard penalty is the transfer of two tricks from the offending player to the opponent. During Phase One a revoke penalty applies to Phase Two tricks actually won, not notional ones, so it can only be applied once Phase Two tricks have been played. If a player has insufficient tricks won to cover the penalty, they transfer all their Phase Two tricks.

How to win more often

• In Phase One, do not always play your best cards to win the face-up card. If the exposed card is weak, consider losing the trick deliberately to force your opponent to take a poor blind card while you take the next face-up one.
• Track what trumps have been played from the first trick. In a two-player game the card information available is high, and knowing whether the top trumps are still live is decisive in Phase Two.
• Winning Phase One tricks matters far less than winning Phase Two tricks. Use Phase One to assemble a well-balanced hand: aim for length in one non-trump suit and enough trumps to control the second phase.
• When the face-up card is a high trump, it is almost always worth winning the trick to claim it, even at the cost of a strong card. Conversely, when the face-up card is a low card of a suit you already hold well, losing that trick is no sacrifice.
• In Phase Two, lead from your longest non-trump suit early to force your opponent to either follow or exhaust their trumps. Keeping your trump length intact as long as possible gives you control of the endgame.

Variations

Scoring Variant: Tricks Above Six

Instead of recording the raw Phase Two trick count, each player scores only the tricks they win above six. A player winning exactly 6 scores nothing; winning 9 scores 3. This compresses the scoring range and means a single-game result is often 0 to 0, so this variant strongly suits match play over several deals.

Variable Trump

Rather than fixing trumps by the first exposed stock card, a new trump suit is declared at the start of Phase Two by cutting the remaining cards (there are none, so instead the bottom card of the exhausted stock position is agreed in advance, or players cut a separate deck). In practice the simplest version is to deal a single extra card face down before play begins and reveal it only when Phase Two starts. This adds a further element of uncertainty to Phase One planning.

No-Trump German Whist

Played identically except that no trump suit is designated. All tricks are won by the highest card of the suit led. This strips out the trump management element and places emphasis entirely on suit-establishment and card-reading, making it a useful teaching version for younger or newer players.

Extended German Whist (Three-Deal Match)

Players agree to play three deals, alternating the first lead each time. Phase Two tricks are totalled across all three deals and the player with the higher aggregate total wins the match. This reduces the effect of a single unlucky deal and is the preferred format when two experienced players want a fuller session.

German Whist: frequently asked questions