Author. He is remembered as an 18th century English author of six books on rules of cards and board games, and may have been the first author to write rule books. The coined phrase "according to Hoyle" was used in the beginning to describe the correct rules or procedures in any activity or game in England, and now it is used universally. He wrote "A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist" in 1742, which had 13 editions in his lifetime. Whist was a card game commonly play by the English aristocracy in his era, which has basically been replaced with bridge by the twentieth century. He taught the game of Whist, but did not invent it as many thought. He revised the rules in 1760 and they stood, until 1764 when the Arlington and Portland Whist Clubs in London adopted their own rules. A French translation of his rule book was done in 1764 and this followed with a German one in 1768. Besides Whist, he wrote six other rule books including backgammon in 1743 and chess in 1761. He did not write a book on the rules of poker even though the phrase "according to Hoyle" is often used at a poker table. With the poor copyright laws in his day, his rules books were often plagiarized, were being pirated, or counterfeited book had rules that were not Hoyle's. Little is known about his life prior to his 1742 book. Some sources said that he was an educated man who had passed the bar exam.
Author. He is remembered as an 18th century English author of six books on rules of cards and board games, and may have been the first author to write rule books. The coined phrase "according to Hoyle" was used in the beginning to describe the correct rules or procedures in any activity or game in England, and now it is used universally. He wrote "A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist" in 1742, which had 13 editions in his lifetime. Whist was a card game commonly play by the English aristocracy in his era, which has basically been replaced with bridge by the twentieth century. He taught the game of Whist, but did not invent it as many thought. He revised the rules in 1760 and they stood, until 1764 when the Arlington and Portland Whist Clubs in London adopted their own rules. A French translation of his rule book was done in 1764 and this followed with a German one in 1768. Besides Whist, he wrote six other rule books including backgammon in 1743 and chess in 1761. He did not write a book on the rules of poker even though the phrase "according to Hoyle" is often used at a poker table. With the poor copyright laws in his day, his rules books were often plagiarized, were being pirated, or counterfeited book had rules that were not Hoyle's. Little is known about his life prior to his 1742 book. Some sources said that he was an educated man who had passed the bar exam.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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