How bid whist scoring works
Bid Whist is a partnership trick-taking game scored in books over six, where the team that wins the bid also decides whether high cards or low cards win.
Deck, deal and the kitty
Bid Whist is usually played with 54 cards, a standard deck plus two jokers, which are the two highest trumps. Four players in two partnerships get twelve cards each and six go to the kitty, which the high bidder picks up and then discards from. The discard counts as a book for the bidding team, so every hand has thirteen books. A 52-card version without jokers deals a four-card kitty.
The book and the bid
The first six books a team takes are its book and score nothing. A bid is the number of books over six a team promises: a bid of 4 is a promise to take 10. Bids usually start at 3 or 4 and go up to 7, a promise to take all thirteen.
Uptown, downtown and no trump
The winning bidder names the game. Uptown (high) means high cards win; downtown (low) means low cards win, with the ace still the best card. No trump is played without a trump suit, and at the same number it outranks uptown and downtown in the bidding.
Scoring a hand
A team that makes its bid scores one point for every book over six, so bid 4 and take 11 is 5. If it falls short it is set and loses the amount of its bid. The defenders score nothing in the usual game. No trump bids commonly score double, made or set.
Boston
Taking all thirteen books is a Boston, or running a Boston. Many tables reward it beyond the books: it can count double, and in some games it wins outright. Some count it only when 7 was bid.
Winning and losing
The classic game is to 7 points, and a team that falls to -7 loses. A longer game goes to 21, often with bids from 1, no doubling for no trump, and the defenders scoring the bid when the bidders are set. Some tables allow only two sets: the third one loses the game.
What Score All does with these rules
Books over six
Thirteen books are played each hand, and the kitty counts as one for the team that won the bid. A bid of 4 promises 10 books: the six of the book plus four. Enter the books the bidding team won, and the app works out whether the bid was made.
Made bids and sets
A made bid scores one point for every book over six, so bid 4 and take 11 is 5 points. Some tables score only the bid; that is a switch. A team that falls short is set and loses its bid, or, in the game to 21, the defenders score it instead.
Uptown, downtown and no trump
Uptown and downtown score the same. No trump usually scores double, made or set, so 4 no trump with 11 books is worth 10. Turn the doubling off if your table does not play it.
Boston
Taking all thirteen books is a Boston. It can score like any other hand, count double, or win the game on the spot, and you can require a bid of 7 for it to count.
Games to 7 or 21
The classic game ends when a team reaches 7, or falls to -7. The longer game goes to 21, with bids from 1 and no doubling. Both are presets, and the target, the floor and a three-sets-and-out rule are all settings.
Bid Whist scoring FAQ
What does a bid of 5 mean in bid whist?
A promise to take 11 of the 13 books: the six of the book plus five.
How many points is a Boston in bid whist?
Seven, one for each book over six, in games that score it like any other hand. Many tables double it, and some let it win the game outright.
Does the kitty count as a book?
Yes, in most games the kitty counts as one book for the team that won the bid, which is why a hand has thirteen books with only twelve tricks.
Do the defenders score in bid whist?
Not in the classic game: only the bidding team scores, up or down. Some versions give the defenders the bid when the bidders are set, or a point for each book they take over six.
Is there a free bid whist score keeper?
Yes. Score All keeps Bid Whist score for free on any phone: a few taps a hand, with the running score, the next dealer and a live link for the table.
How do you score a Boston in bid whist?
It depends on the table. Score All lets you count a Boston like any other hand, double it, or have it win the game outright, and it can require that 7 was bid.
Does no trump score double in bid whist?
In many games, yes: a no trump bid scores double whether it is made or set. It is a switch in Score All, on for the game to 7 and off for the game to 21.