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- Dealing |
- Bidding |
- Playing and Scoring the Game |
- Strategies |
- Variations |
- Video |
- Q&A
Oh Hell is a 3-7 player trick-taking game that goes by many names (Get Fred, Up and Down the River, Nomination Whist, and more) and the particular rules change depending on who you ask. We’ll show you how to play a basic game of Oh Hell, from dealing to scoring, to get you started. Then, we’ll show you variations to try to spice up your game night, and strategies to follow to make sure you always come out on top.
Things You Should Know
- Number of players: 3-7
- Objective: Win "tricks" by playing the highest card of a certain suit.
- Setup: Shuffle a 52-card deck and deal 10 cards to each player for a 4-player game.
Steps
Dealing
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Shuffle the deck and deal 10 cards to each player. Play rock, paper, scissors to choose a starting dealer. Remove the jokers from the deck and shuffle it, then deal the cards. For a 3-5 player game, the dealer distributes 10 cards to each player, starting with the player on their left. For 6 players, deal 8 cards to each player, and for a game of 7 players, deal 7 cards. [1] X Research source
- Oh Hell is known by many names, and each variation of the game tends to use a different number of cards, but the important part is that everyone receives the same number of cards.
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Place the remaining cards in a pile and reveal the top card. Set all the cards that weren’t dealt (the deck) in a face-down pile in the center of the table, where everyone can reach them. Then, reveal the top card and place it face-up next to the deck. This first card establishes the first suit that will be played this round. [2] X Research source
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Play a card of the same suit as the face-up card. To start the round (or “trick”), the player to the left of the dealer goes first. Look at the face-up card on the table, then play a card of the same suit. Once the first player lays down a card, the next player (moving counterclockwise around the table), also plays a card of the same suit, until each player has played 1 card. [4] X Research source
- If you don’t have a card of the same suit as the face-up card, play any other card. However, you can’t win a trick with a card that isn’t of the starting suit.
- You only play 1 card per round, so choose your card carefully! Low cards are less likely to win rounds, while high cards (10, J, K, Q, A) are much more likely.
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Win the round by playing the highest card of the starting suit. Once all the players have laid 1 card on the table, look at the face-up cards. The player who played the highest card of the starting suit wins the trick. [5] X Research source If you win, take all the face-up cards and set them aside in a neat pile to keep track of how many tricks you’ve won.
- Players choose cards to play based on their starting bid. For example, if they placed a high bid, they’ll want to play many high cards to win many rounds and reach that bid. If their bid was low, they’ll play low cards to avoid winning games.
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Flip the top card of the deck and play another round. Flip the card on the top of the deck to reveal the suit of the next round. The player who won the previous trick goes first, then the other players each play 1 card of the same suit, and whoever plays the highest card of that suit takes the trick. [6] X Research source Keep playing tricks until nobody has any cards remaining in their hands.
- It helps to try to keep track of the cards that have been played. For example, if someone played a King of Heart last round, you know that your Queen of Hearts has a much better chance of winning the next round.
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Count each player’s tricks to determine the winner. The game ends once everyone has played all their cards. Count the number of tricks each person has taken; this is their score. Then, compare their score to the bid they made at the start of the game. If their score is the same as their bid, they receive an additional 10 points. The person with the most points is the winner! [7] X Research source
- For example, Player A took 3 tricks, but bid 4, so their final score is just 3. Player B took 2 tricks and bid only 2, so receives an additional 10 points, for a final score of 12. Player B is the winner!
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Strategies
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Bid low when everyone else bids high. When other players are bidding high, it usually means that they think they can win many tricks, in which case winning tricks will be more difficult for you. [8] X Research source Conversely, if everyone else bids low, you might have an easier time taking tricks, so bid a little higher.
- When in doubt, bid low. It’s often easier to achieve a low bid and then intentionally lose tricks than it is to win more tricks than everyone else.
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Try to win as many tricks as you bid for the most points. In Oh Hell, you get an additional 10 points if you win exactly as many tricks as you bid at the start of the game. [9] X Research source Once you’ve won as many tricks as your bid, try to avoid winning with your higher cards, since winning any more tricks will make you miss out on that 10-point bonus.
- Also, try to force other players to exceed their bid if they’ve already achieved it. For example, if Player A bid 3 tricks and has won 3 tricks, play a lower card than them on the next trick to force them to win it, making them miss out on the 10-point bonus.
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Play your low cards when you’re breaking from the suit. The highest card of the starting suit wins each trick. [10] X Research source That means that you want to hold on to those high cards in order to win tricks. If you can’t play a card of the starting suit, discard a low card of another suit to get it out of the way, which gives you better chances of winning a later trick.
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Bid 0 to intentionally try to lose. In Oh Hell, it’s possible to still get 10 points by bidding 0 tricks and taking 0 tricks. [11] X Research source If you have a hand of only low cards, you might choose to bid 0, expecting to take 0 tricks. If you’re successful, you still earn 10 points.
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Variations
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Play with trump suits for a more complex game. When playing with trump suits, the card that’s flipped from the top of the deck each round is that round’s “trump” suit. The first player plays any card from their hand to determine the “following” suit, and each player must try to play cards of this following suit. If they can’t, they may play any other suit. The highest card of the following suit takes the trick. That is, unless a player plays a card from the trump suit—then, the highest card from the trump suit wins the trick. [12] X Research source
- Alternatively, use predetermined trump suits for each round. For example, the first round might have hearts as a trump suit, then the next round would be spades, then clubs, then diamonds, repeating through the rounds.
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Deal new cards each round for a longer game. Start by dealing each player 10 cards, and play as usual, with players bidding and taking tricks. Then, the game continues, but this time each player is dealt 9 cards. The next round, deal 8, then 7, and so on, until each player is dealt only a single card, at which point you may deal another card each round back up to 10 cards. After this final round of 10, the game ends. [13] X Research source
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Score only successful bids for a more competitive game. For a more intense game, play so that players only earn points by achieving exactly their bid. [14] X Research source For example, if Player A bids 3 tricks but takes 4 instead, they get no points. But if Player B bids 5 tricks and takes exactly 5, they get 15 points (5 for each trick plus 10 for a successful bid).
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Community Q&A
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QuestionMust you always follow the suit played before you?Quilter gardenerCommunity AnswerYes, if you can. If not, then you can sluff a card you know you can't win.
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QuestionCan I use two decks of cards when playing Oh Hell?Community AnswerYes, although we've played a single deck with up to nine players with good fun.
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QuestionWhen playing with six players, how many decks do you need?Community AnswerJust one deck (minus the Joker). You only deal an equal number of cards to each player. First deal and play with one card, then 2, then 3, etc., each time shuffling all the cards until you deal 8 to each player (52 cards divided by 6 players=8). The rules here say the first to 100 points wins, but I like to go back down from 8, then 7, etc. until we're at 1 card again. Doing so makes for a longer game.
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://groupgames101.com/oh-hell-card-game-rules/
- ↑ https://www.trickstercards.com/home/help/HowToPlay.aspx?file=oh-hell-basics.html
- ↑ https://dkmgames.com/CardSharp/OhHell/OhHellHelp.php
- ↑ https://bargames101.com/oh-hell-card-game/
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/22/rules-card-games-oh-hell
- ↑ https://www.trickstercards.com/home/help/HowToPlay.aspx?file=oh-hell-basics.html
- ↑ https://groupgames101.com/oh-hell-card-game-rules/
- ↑ https://cardgameheaven.com/oh-hell/
- ↑ https://www.trickstercards.com/home/help/HowToPlay.aspx?file=oh-hell-basics.html
About This Article
The objective of the card game Oh Hell is to earn points by taking the exact number of tricks per round that you initially guessed you would. The game is best played with 4-6 players. To begin each hand, an equal number of cards is dealt to each player. You should not deal out all the cards since you need a few remaining cards each round. For a 4 player game, you could start with 12 cards per person while for a 6 player game you could start with 8 per person. The top card from the remaining deck is flipped over, with the suit of the card becoming the trump suit. After studying their cards, each player says the number of tricks they believe they’ll win that round. Write down each person's bet for reference. Then, the player to the left of the dealer plays a card, which will be the leading suit. Play proceeds around the circle with all subsequent players following suit, meaning they play a card of the same suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades) as the person who led the round. To take a trick, you must play the highest value card of the round. Aces are worth the most and 2’s the least. If a player does not have any cards of the suit that led, they can play a card of a different suit. Cards of the trump suit automatically beat cards of any other suit. For example, if the first card played in a round was a 10 of hearts, each subsequent player must play a heart. If a player does not have hearts in their hand, they may play a card of any suit. You cannot win the trick if you play a different suit from the one that led unless you play a card of the trump suit. If the trump suit is clubs, a club will be beat any hearts played in the round regardless of their value. If more than one person plays a club, the player with the highest club wins the trick. The player who wins the trick leads the next trick. The round ends when players have no more cards in their hand. Players are awarded 1 point for each trick they win during a round plus 10 points if they won exactly the number of tricks they bid. The person to the left of the dealer becomes the new dealer for the next round, deals the cards, and flips up the top card from the remaining deck to choose the new trump suit. Each successive round is played with one card less per hand than the previous round. The final round is played with one card. After the last round, the player with the most cumulative points wins.
Reader Success Stories
- "I use to play Oh Hell with my niece and nephew 35 years ago. You have refreshed our fond memories of the game and we plan on playing again this evening. Thank you!" ..." more
