Oh Hell

What is Oh Hell?

Oh Hell is the trick-taking game of exact bids, played around the world under a dozen names: Up and Down the River, Blackout, Contract Whist, Nomination Whist, Blob. Everyone plays for themselves, and the whole game is in one number. At the start of each hand you say how many tricks you will take, and you score only if you take exactly that many, not one more and not one less.

Here you sit at a table of four against three computer players, Iris, Theo and Nora, and play the classic river: nineteen hands from ten cards down to one and back up to ten. Pick an easy, medium or hard table, and every day the Daily deals the same nineteen hands to everyone.

How to play Oh Hell

The game uses one ordinary pack of 52 cards, the ace high. After the deal the next card of the stock is turned up and its suit is trumps for the hand. The biggest hand uses 40 cards, so there is always a trump.

• Bidding. Starting left of the dealer, everyone says how many tricks they will take, from zero up to the number of cards in hand. The dealer bids last and may not make the bids add up to the number of tricks (the hook), so at least one player will miss.
• Tricks. The player left of the dealer leads. Follow the suit led if you can. If you cannot, play any card: you may trump, but you do not have to.
• Who takes the trick. The highest trump, or if no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led. Whoever takes the trick leads the next.
• Scoring. Take exactly your bid and you score 10 points plus the bid: a bid of zero made is worth 10, a bid of three made is worth 13. Miss by any amount and the hand scores nothing.
• The end. After nineteen hands the highest total wins.

The score pad above the table shows every bid, the tricks taken so far this hand and the totals.

Tips and strategy

1. Count sure tricks first. Aces and high trumps win most of the time; a king is only half a trick unless the ace is gone.
2. Small hands are lotteries, big hands are math. With one or two cards, a high trump is gold. With ten cards, long trumps keep winning after the others run out.
3. Zero is a real bid. A hand of low cards in short suits makes zero easy to hit, and it is worth 10 sure points.
4. Once you have your tricks, duck. Play the highest card that still loses the trick, so you are not stuck winning with it later.
5. Use the hook. When the bids add up to fewer tricks than cards, someone will be forced to take extra; when they add up to more, someone will fall short. Make sure it is not you.

Frequently asked questions

Is Oh Hell free?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.

Why can I not bid a certain number?

Because you are dealing. The dealer may not make the bids add up to the number of tricks, so that not everyone can make their bid. The barred number is struck out.

Do I have to trump when I cannot follow suit?

No. When you have no card of the suit led you may play any card, a trump or not. Throwing away a high side card is often the best way to avoid a trick you do not want.

How is Oh Hell different from Romanian Whist?

Romanian Whist deals from one card up to eight and back, uses a short pack, makes you trump when you cannot follow and takes points away for a miss. Oh Hell uses the full pack, runs from ten cards down to one and back, never forces you to trump and simply scores nothing for a miss.

How long does a game last?

Nineteen hands, usually ten to fifteen minutes. If you leave in the middle, the game waits on this device and goes on from the same card.

What is the Daily Oh Hell?

Every day everyone plays the same nineteen hands against the medium computers, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.