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How many points are needed to win a British game of classic whist?
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whist
Men playing whist, watercolour on paper by Mary Ellen Best, c. mid-19th century; in the York Art Gallery, England.
In the classic British game of whist, the target score to win a game is five points.1
In this traditional format, points are earned by capturing "odd tricks"—those taken over and above the first six—as well as through "honours" (holding specific high-ranking cards in the trump suit). Reaching the five-point threshold ends the game and prevents the opposing side from scoring any additional points for honours.1