Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Short whist

A shortened version of whist where the first player or team to reach a fixed number of points wins the game, and winning two games wins the rubber.

British game target
5 points12
American game target
7 points1
Rubber
Won by winning 2 games12

Key points

  • Points are scored for tricks taken beyond the first six (the book) in each deal.12
  • Short whist overtook long whist in popularity, becoming the standard form of the game.12
  • Some versions include optional honours scoring, but the core is a shorter game target than long whist.12

Where this term is used

Card games Whist The broader card game family from which short whist is a specific scoring variant. Card games Whist vs bridge Compares whist (including short whist) with contract bridge, a later descendant. Card games Whist suit Explains the role of the trump suit in whist games. Card games Whist vs euchre Distinguishes whist from euchre, a different trick-taking game. Card games Whist vs spades Shows how spades differs from whist in bidding and scoring. Card games Whist vs hearts Contrasts whist with hearts, a game where the aim is to avoid tricks.

Sources

  1. Whist en.wikipedia.org Provides the core definition of short whist, game targets, and scoring rules.
  2. Whist marker - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Supports the rubber structure and the distinction from long whist.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.