Oh Hell Rules — AllGameRules

Oh Hell! Rules

Game Overview

Oh Hell! is a trick-taking card game that first appeared in London and New York in the 1930s. It has since become popular worldwide, offering a unique twist on traditional trick-taking games. The game requires 3 to 7 players and a standard 52-card deck.

Objective

The objective of Oh Hell! is for each player to bid the exact number of tricks they think they can take from each hand and then to take exactly that many, with no more and no fewer. Points are awarded for making the bid exactly, and points are deducted for missing the bid, either over or under.

Sequence of Hands

The game consists of a series of hands. The first hand is played with 7 to 10 cards each, depending on the number of players: 10 cards each with 3 to 5 players, 8 cards each with 6 players and 7 cards each with 7 players, because of the limit of 52 cards available. Each successive hand is played with one card fewer, down to a hand of just one card each, then one card more per hand back up to the starting level. With 7 players the hands run 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: thirteen hands in all, or roughly 45 minutes of play.

Setup

To determine the first dealer, players draw cards. The player with the highest card deals first, and the turn to deal rotates clockwise with each hand. The cards are shuffled and cut, and the dealer deals the cards singly until everyone has the appropriate number of cards for the hand being played. The next card is turned face up, and the suit of this card becomes the trump suit for the hand. The remaining undealt cards are placed in a face-down stack with the turned trump on top.

How to Play

The bidding in each hand begins with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise, back around to the dealer who bids last. Each bid is a number representing the number of tricks that the player will try to take. Everyone must bid, and it is not possible to pass, but you can bid zero, in which case your objective is to take no tricks at all. A bid may be changed only if the next player to the left has not yet bid. Remember the hook: the dealer may not bid the number that would cause the total number of tricks bid to equal the number of tricks available; a hand will always be "over-bid" or "under-bid."

Play begins with the player to the dealer's left, who leads the first card. The lead may be any suit (including trump). Play follows clockwise. Each player must follow the suit led, if they can. If not, they may play any other card in their hand, including trump. The player who has played the highest trump card, or if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led, wins the trick. That player then leads to the next trick. Continue until all tricks have been played and won.

Scoring and End of Game

The scorekeeper is designated prior to each game according to house rules. In the simplest version, a player who wins the exact number of tricks bid scores 10 plus the number of tricks bid (10 points for zero tricks, 11 for 1 trick, 12 for two tricks, etc.). Players who take more or fewer tricks than they bid score nothing. This method has the advantage that the scorekeeper, having written down the bids at the start of the play, can simply write a figure "1" in front of those that were successful and delete those that are not. The game with this scoring method is often known as Blackout or Blob, because the scorer obliterates or blacks out unsuccessful bids, so that they become black blobs on the score sheet.

Perhaps the most widespread scoring method is to award 1 point for each trick won plus a bonus of 10 points for players who win exactly the number of tricks they bid. A player who bid 2 would therefore score 12 points for winning exactly 2 tricks, but only 1 for a single trick and 3 for three tricks, which gives a player whose bid has failed some incentive to win as many tricks as possible. Whatever method is used, the scorekeeper keeps a cumulative total for each player, and the final cumulative scores determine the result.

Common Variants

There are several variations of Oh Hell! Some people start from 1 card each, go up to the maximum number of cards, and then back down to 1. Some just go from the maximum down to 1 and then stop, or vice versa. Some people go from the maximum down to 1, then from 1 up to the maximum, so playing two 1-card hands in the middle, or from 1 to the maximum to 1 with two maximum hands in the middle. If there are four people, the maximum number of cards dealt may be 13 rather than 10, with three people, you can go up to 17. Some people go up to some other maximum, such as 7 cards, irrespective of the number of players.

A Fun Fact or Record

Oh Hell! is known by many names around the world, including Contract Whist, Nomination Whist, Bust, Boerenbridge, German Bridge, and Kachuful in India. In India, the game is called (in Gujurati) Kachuful, which is a mnemonic for the order of cycling through the trump suits: Ka (spades), Chu (diamonds), F (clubs), L (hearts).

Where to Get the Game

Start your Oh Hell! journey with a standard 52-card deck, available on Amazon.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

Bidding too high or too low: It's essential to understand the number of tricks you can reasonably expect to win, given the cards in your hand and the trump suit for the round.
Failing to follow suit: Remember that, except when you have no card of the suit led, you must play a card of the suit led if possible.
Miscounting the number of tricks: Be careful to keep track of the number of tricks you've won during the round and adjust your bidding accordingly.

FAQ

Can I pass during the bidding phase?
- No, everyone must bid, and it is not possible to pass.
Is there a bid the dealer is not allowed to make?
- Yes. The dealer may not bid the number that would make the total of all bids equal to the number of tricks available, so every hand ends up over-bid or under-bid.
Can I change my bid during the bidding phase?
- You can change your bid only if the next player to the left has not yet bid.
What happens if a duplicate card is played to a trick?
- In some variations, if duplicate cards are played to a trick, the second played beats the first.
Can I lead a trump card?
- Yes. The lead may be any suit, including trump. The trump suit is known before play begins, since it is set by the card turned face up after the deal.