About the book:

The Gist of Bid Whist is the definitive book celebrating, teaching, and popularizing Bid Whist, the card game Skip Gates calls “The National Black Pastime.” It engages current players with the “sizzle” of action and anecdotes that speak to the game’s cultural resonance, fun and power to connect, while introducing it to a broader, more diverse public by embracing the challenge of serving the “steak” of strategy, rules and mechanics in an appealing, step-by-step manner. No previous work welcomes newcomers and respects seasoned players by tying together Bid Whist’s strategy, card-play, fun and cultural impact to bring the game to life like The Gist of Bid Whist.

Bid Whist has captivated luminaries like Barack Obama, Thurgood Marshall, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan—as well as students, soldiers, athletes, moms, and legions of everyday strivers and achievers. The game has inspired a passionate following in African-American communities for generations by combining the strategic engagement of Bridge with the risk-taking swagger of poker.

Yet Bid Whist remains unknown outside Black communities. And even many who are familiar with it mistakenly regard Bid Whist as a game only for Black people “of a certain age.” Therein lies the potential for The Gist of Bid Whist. Card games have the power to connect people, including across generational, racial and socioeconomic divides. This post-pandemic moment, exacerbated by what the Surgeon General labels an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” is one that calls for bridge-building and connection.

The Gist of Bid Whist explains why trump card games are arguably superior to chess, and highlights the pivotal role of the storied Pullman Porters in injecting Bid Whist into the culture—and the critical role of Bid Whist in fortifying the porters to make immense, transformative civic contributions. It celebrates how Bid Whist strengthens bonds of family and friendship, including by spotlighting one remarkable group’s twenty-five-years-and-counting card game tradition.

The rich story of Bid Whist is one that deserves to be widely known. There is a latent Bid Whist audience waiting for a high-quality book on their game—and a much bigger audience of devotees of other card games poised to embrace the fast-paced strategic thrills, witty revelry, fascinating cultural backstory and connective power of Bid Whist.

Hopefully, The Gist of Bid Whist will spark a Bid Whist renaissance to help the game become the next hidden-in-plain-sight, rooted-in-the-Black-community treasure to blossom as a mainstream cultural force.

About the author: