Rules for Oh Hell

Oh Hell is a classic trick-taking card game with bidding that first appeared in London and New York in the 1930s and has since become popular worldwide. The game goes by many names: Oh Pshaw, Oh Well, Elevator, Blackout, Blob, Contract Whist, and Up and Down the River.

The game is for 3–7 players (best with 4–6) and typically takes 30–60 minutes. You need a standard 52-card deck (no jokers) and something to keep score with.

The goal is to bid exactly how many tricks you think you can take in each hand, and then take that exact number. Not more, not fewer.

Cards rank from highest to lowest within each suit:

Ace – King – Queen – Jack – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2

Aces are always high. The trump suit beats all other suits, regardless of card value.

The game consists of a series of hands where the number of cards dealt changes from hand to hand. It starts with a large number of cards, decreases by one each hand down to one, then increases by one each hand back to the starting number.

The number of cards in the first hand depends on the number of players:

• 3–5 players: 10 cards each
• 6 players: 8 cards each
• 7 players: 7 cards each

Example with 4 players: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 cards. That gives 19 hands in total.

The first dealer is decided by having all players draw a card. The highest card deals first. The deal then rotates clockwise with each new hand.

The dealer shuffles and deals the appropriate number of cards to each player, one at a time. The top card of the remaining deck is then turned face up. The suit of this card becomes the trump suit for the hand. Trump beats all three other suits.

The remaining cards are placed face down with the turned-up trump card on top.

If all cards are dealt and there is no card left to turn up, the hand is played without trump.

Bidding starts with the player to the left of the dealer and proceeds clockwise. Each player bids how many tricks they expect to take. You can bid anything from 0 up to the number of cards in your hand.

Everyone must bid. You cannot pass. You can bid 0, meaning your goal is to take no tricks at all.

The Hook: The dealer, who bids last, may not bid the number that would make the total of all bids equal to the number of tricks available. This means every hand is either overbid or underbid, and at least one player is guaranteed to miss their bid.

After all bids are placed, the scorekeeper announces whether the total is over or under the number of available tricks.

The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick and may play any suit, including trump. Play proceeds clockwise.

Trick-taking rules:

• You must follow the suit that was led, if you can
• If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card, including trump
• The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins
• The winner of a trick leads the next trick

Any player may ask at any time how many tricks each player bid and how many they have taken so far.

The scoring system rewards precision. There are several common methods:

Most common method: Each player scores 1 point per trick taken. You also earn a 10-point bonus if you take exactly the number you bid. Example: bid 3 and took 3 tricks = 13 points. Bid 3 but took 4 tricks = 4 points (no bonus).

Simple method (Blackout): If you take exactly the right number, you score 10 plus the number of tricks bid. If you miss, you score nothing. Example: bid 3 and took 3 = 13 points. Bid 3 and took 2 = 0 points.

Zero bids: A successful zero bid most commonly scores 10 points. Some play 5 points for zero, or 5 plus the number of cards dealt that hand.

Points accumulate throughout the game. The player with the highest total after the final hand wins.

Oh Hell has many common variants:

• Ascending order: Start with 1 card and go up to the maximum, then back down again
• Descending only: Start from the maximum and play down to 1 card, then stop
• Forehead card: In the 1-card hand, each player holds their card to their forehead without looking at it. You can see everyone else's card but not your own, and bid based on that
• No hook: Some play without the hook, letting the dealer bid freely. This makes it possible for all players to make their bids
• Simultaneous bidding: All players reveal their bids at the same time by showing fingers on a count of three

Oh Hell and Nomination Whist (known as Bondebridge in Norway) belong to the same game family, but there are some key differences:

• Bidding: In Oh Hell, players bid in turn (clockwise) with the dealer bidding last under the hook rule. In Nomination Whist, simultaneous bidding with closed fists is common
• Trump: In Oh Hell, trump is always set by turning up a card from the deck. Nomination Whist often uses a fixed rotation of trump suits
• Hand structure: Oh Hell typically starts from the maximum number of cards and works down, then back up. Nomination Whist often starts from 1 card and works upward

Both games share the same core idea: bid and take exactly the right number of tricks. Pick the variant that suits your group best.

Some tips for playing Oh Hell well:

• Aces and Kings in the trump suit are nearly guaranteed tricks. Count them carefully when bidding
• Remember that not all cards are in play, especially in hands with few cards. This makes outcomes harder to predict
• Pay attention to what others bid. If the hand is overbid, you can try to spoil other players' bids by winning tricks they need
• Zero bids are easier in hands with few cards, but much harder when you hold many
• The dealer position gives the most information, but the hook often makes it tricky to use
• In large hands: control your trump cards and use them carefully
• In small hands: a single face card can be decisive. Think carefully about whether it will win a trick or not