Rules of Oh Hell

Oh, Hell rules have many local and regional variations. The rules presented here cover playing the most common version of the game.

Object of the Game

The object of the game is, after the deal and consideration of the cards you were dealt, to predict the exact number of tricks you think you will take in the round and thus earn more points per round and the game.

Players

The game may be played with 3-7 players, but it is best when played with 4 to 6 players.

Ages

Ages 8 and up.

Deck

• • The game is played using a standard deck of 52 cards, without the Jokers.

Scorekeeper

The group decides who will be the scorekeeper. To keep score, the scorekeeper uses either:

• • an official paper scoresheet (available online for printing),

  • an online scoring spreadsheet,

  • a paper version of an online scoring spreadsheet,

  • or a sheet of plain paper.

Deal

Dealer

• • The players decide who will be the first dealer.

  • The dealer shuffles the deck, cuts it, and then deals the appropriate number of cards for the round.

  • The cards are dealt clockwise.

  • After each round, the first player to the left of the dealer becomes the dealer for the next round.

Number of cards dealt

Oh, Hell! consists of up to 19 rounds of play. Because there are only 52 cards in the deck, the number of rounds played is determined by the number of players.

In the first round, the dealer deals the starting number of cards:

• • For 3 to 5 players, the game starts with 10 cards. 

  • For 6 players, the game starts with 8 cards.

  • For 7 players, the game starts with 7 cards

In each subsequent round, the dealer deals 1 card LESS card than the previous round until after the 1 card, then the dealer begins dealing players 1 card MORE than the previous round until the starting number of cards are dealt.

Trump Pile

• • The remaining cards after completing the deal are put face down in the middle of the play area.

  • The top card is turned face-up and the suit of this card is now trump and the pile becomes the Trump Pile.

Bidding

After organizing their cards by suit and value and considering the trump suit and how many unused cards are in the Trump Pile, players estimate how many tricks they think they may take this round ranging from 0 to the total number of cards in the round.

• • Players must bid, there is no passing.

  • Bidding begins with the first player to the left of the dealer.

  • Each player states their bid in turn based on the number of tricks they think they can take in the round.

  • THE HOOK. The main frustrating thing about Oh Hell is the “hook.” This occurs when it's the last player's turn to bid. The last player cannot make a bid that would make the total bids equal to the number of tricks in the round; therefore, a hand will always be "over-bid" or "under-bid,” which means that at least one player will always not make their bid.

  • The scorekeeper records each bid as it is announced.

Play

After all the bidding is completed, the first player to the left of the dealer leads by selecting and playing a single card from their hand to the center of the play area to form a Play Pile. A trump may be played at any time; it does not have to be “broken” as it does when playing Hearts or Spades. Progressing to the left, each player in turn plays a card onto the Play Pile. 

Must follow suit

• • EACH PLAYER MUST FOLLOW SUIT by playing a card of the same suit as the last card played if they have one.

  • If it is not possible to follow suit, the player may play any card from their hand including trump.

The best card takes the trick 

• • The player playing the highest-rank card of the suit being played takes the trick. 

  • If a trump card is played, the highest trump card takes the trick.

Trick completed

• • When all players have played one card, the trick is complete.

  • The player who takes the trick gathers the cards played and places them in separate face-down piles to help keep track of the number of tricks taken.

  • The player who took the trick starts the next trick by leading with any card from their hand.

Round completed

A round is completed after the last card is played and the last trick is taken.

Scoring

After a round is complete:

• • Players count the number of tricks they have taken.

  • The scorekeeper asks each player for their results and enters the results on the scoresheet.

The round is scored as follows:

• • +1 point for each trick taken.

  • +10 points for taking the exact number of tricks bid.

Game Completed

• • The game is completed after the last round is completed and scored.

  • The scorekeeper totals the scores of each round for each player.

Winner

• • The player with the highest total score is the winner.

  • Ties may be decided in favor of the player who made the most bids exactly.