Oh Hell: rules and a bid and score keeper
Oh Hell (also Oh Well, or Up and Down the River) is the trick-taking game where you must take exactly the tricks you bid, no more and no fewer, while the hand size climbs down and back up. The keeper below tracks the ladder, the dealer and trump for each hand, stops a dealer's illegal hook bid, checks the tricks add up, and scores the hand under the system your table uses.
The rules in 30 seconds
- Three to seven players, one deck, Aces high.
- Deal the hand size for this round, turn the next card up: its suit is trump.
- Starting left of the dealer, everyone says how many tricks they will take. The dealer bids last, and cannot make the bids add up to the number of tricks (the hook).
- Play tricks: follow suit if you can; highest trump wins, or the highest card of the suit led.
- Make your bid exactly to score. Next hand, one card fewer, down to one card, then back up.
Bid and score keeper
The hand-size ladder
Pagat's version starts big, drops one card a hand to a single card, then climbs back. Here is the five-player game, 19 hands from 10 cards:
| Players | Pagat's first deal | Hands in a game | Most the deck allows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10 | 19 | 17 |
| 4 | 10 | 19 | 13 (no trump) |
| 5 | 10 | 19 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
How to play
Deal and trump
Use a 52-card deck, Aces high. The first dealer deals the hand size for the first round, one card at a time, and turns the next card face up. Its suit is trump for the hand. If every card has been dealt, there is no card to turn and the hand has no trump. The deal passes to the left each hand.
Bidding
Starting with the player left of the dealer and going round to the dealer, each player says how many tricks they expect to take. Zero is a bid; passing is not. Write the bids down where everyone can see them. The dealer, bidding last, is "hooked": they may not choose the one number that would make the bids total the number of tricks in the hand.
Play
The player left of the dealer leads to the first trick. Everyone must follow the suit led if they can; if not, they may trump or throw any card. The highest trump wins the trick, or if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
Scoring
| Method (all from Pagat) | Bid 3, took 3 | Bid 3, took 1 | Bid 0, took 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 per trick, plus 10 if exact (Pagat calls this the most common) | 13 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 plus the bid if exact, else nothing | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 10 plus the bid squared if exact, minus the miss squared | 19 | -4 | 10 |
Pagat also mentions tables that give only 5 for making a bid of zero, and other systems with points per trick bid and penalties per trick missed. Highest total after the last hand wins; if two players tie, Pagat suggests playing on, and our keeper adds hands at the biggest size in your ladder (Pagat's maximum) until one player leads.
Where sources differ
- The ladder. Pagat goes down and back up from 10 (8 for six players, 7 for seven). Wikipedia's example is the same for four players, and it notes groups that play 7 down to 1 and back. Pagat also mentions starting at 1 card and going up first. The keeper has all four shapes.
- The hook. Pagat treats it as normal play and lists playing without it as a variation. It is on in our keeper unless you turn it off.
- Scoring. Every source lists more than one system. Agree on one before the first deal and pick it in the keeper.
- Names. Oh Hell, Oh Well, Blackout, Up and Down the River, Contract Whist, Nomination Whist (Wikipedia); some names also mean small rule changes, such as simultaneous bidding.
Tips
- Count your sure tricks, then bid fewer. An Ace of trump is a near-certain trick; a King in a side suit often is not.
- Zero is a real bid. With a hand of low cards and no trumps, bid zero and spend the hand ducking.
- Watch the total. If the bids add up to more than the tricks, someone will be squeezed: play to make sure it is not you. Under the hook, the dealer knows this best.
- The one-card hand is a coin toss. Bid 1 only with a high trump; otherwise bid 0 and hope.
Play online or at home
Play online: coming soon. We add a game to Play online only once it is finished and tested.
Play at home: one standard deck, three to seven players, and the keeper above in place of a score pad.
Questions
How do you play Oh Hell?
Each hand, deal a set number of cards and turn the next card up for trump. Starting left of the dealer, everyone bids exactly how many tricks they will take. Play the tricks as in Whist: follow suit if you can, highest trump or highest card of the suit led wins. Score only if you take exactly what you bid. The hand size changes every deal.
How many cards do you deal?
Pagat starts at 10 each for three to five players, 8 for six and 7 for seven, goes down one card a hand to a single card, then back up. With five players that is 19 hands. Our keeper also lets you start at the most the deck allows, or go up first.
What is the hook rule?
The dealer bids last and may not bid the number that would make all the bids add up to the number of tricks in the hand. That way at least one player must miss. Pagat calls it standard; some tables leave it out. Our keeper shows the dealer the one number they cannot bid.
How do you score Oh Hell?
Pagat gives several systems. The most common: 1 point per trick you take, plus 10 if you took exactly your bid. Another: 10 plus your bid if exact, nothing otherwise. A riskier one: 10 plus your bid squared if exact, minus the miss squared if not. Bidding 3 and taking 3 scores 13, 13 or 19; bidding 3 and taking 1 scores 1, 0 or -4.
Is there trump when all the cards are dealt?
No. When the whole deck is dealt there is no card left to turn, so the hand is played without trumps (Pagat). With four players that happens on a 13-card hand.
What else is Oh Hell called?
Oh Well, Up and Down the River, Blackout, Blob, Contract Whist and Nomination Whist are some of the names Wikipedia lists for this family of exact-bidding games.