The game continues like this, with one fewer card per player on each hand, until the final hand consists of one card each. The winner of a trick leads to the next trick.Īfter the first hand, a second hand is dealt by the next player in order around the table, with only six cards each. Each trick is won by the highest trump in it otherwise by the highest card of the suit led. Players must follow suit if they can, otherwise they may play any card. The player on dealer's left leads to the first trick. The uppermost of the undealt cards is turned face upwards to indicate the trump suit. PlayĪ player is selected to deal, and deals seven cards each, clockwise. A standard 52-card pack is used, with four suits ranking from high to low A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. Players and CardsĪny number from two to seven may play. In North America it is known by other names including Scrounge or Rat or Rat **** where the **** stands for various vulgar words, according to the taste of the players.Ī session consists of seven hands of diminishing size. In Britain it is called Knockout Whist, or sometimes just Trumps. It is often played as a children's game but it has enough interesting tactics that it is also played by adults, sometimes for small stakes. Kroll, Kevin Ammerman, Max Madhax, Nic Cleveland, Chris Gibbs and Mike Shaffer. This page is based on contributions from Nick Wedd, C.