1: First hand: deal 10 cards each to three to five players, 8 each to six, 7 each to seven.Use one regular 52-card deck. Aces are high.
2: Turn the next card face up. Its suit is trumps for this hand.Leave it on top of the undealt cards, where everyone can see it.
3: Starting on the dealer's left, each player bids the number of tricks they will take.Everyone must bid. Zero is a bid.
4: The hook: the dealer bids last, and the bids may not add up to the tricks in the hand.With 5 cards each and bids of 2, 1 and 1, the dealer may not bid 1.
5: The player on the dealer's left leads any card. Everyone must follow suit if they can.A trump may be led.
6: Cannot follow suit? Play any card, a trump or not.You are never forced to trump.
7: The trick goes to the highest trump. With no trump played, the top card of the led suit.The winner of a trick leads the next.
8: Score 1 point for each trick you took, plus 10 for taking exactly your bid.Bid 2 and take 2 for 12 points. Bid 2 and take 3 for 3.
9: Deal one card fewer each hand, down to 1, then one more each hand back up.The deal passes to the left. The highest total after the last hand wins.
1: First hand: deal 10 cards each to three to five players, 8 each to six, 7 each to seven.Use one regular 52-card deck. Aces are high.
2: Turn the next card face up. Its suit is trumps for this hand.Leave it on top of the undealt cards, where everyone can see it.
3: Starting on the dealer's left, each player bids the number of tricks they will take.Everyone must bid. Zero is a bid.
4: The hook: the dealer bids last, and the bids may not add up to the tricks in the hand.With 5 cards each and bids of 2, 1 and 1, the dealer may not bid 1.
5: The player on the dealer's left leads any card. Everyone must follow suit if they can.A trump may be led.
6: Cannot follow suit? Play any card, a trump or not.You are never forced to trump.
7: The trick goes to the highest trump. With no trump played, the top card of the led suit.The winner of a trick leads the next.
8: Score 1 point for each trick you took, plus 10 for taking exactly your bid.Bid 2 and take 2 for 12 points. Bid 2 and take 3 for 3.
9: Deal one card fewer each hand, down to 1, then one more each hand back up.The deal passes to the left. The highest total after the last hand wins.
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Hands by number of players 8
1: Three, four or five players: 10 cards down to 1 and back up to 10. That is 19 hands.The 1-card hand is played once, in the middle.
2: Six players: 8 cards down to 1 and back up to 8. That is 15 hands.Eight cards each use 48 of the 52.
3: Seven players: 7 cards down to 1 and back up to 7. That is 13 hands.Seven cards each use 49 of the 52.
4: Six and seven players start smaller because 52 cards will not go around ten times.A card also has to be left over to turn up for trumps.
5: Short game: play from the largest hand down to 1 and stop.With four players that is 10 hands.
6: Some tables start at 1 card, climb to the largest hand and come back down.The number of hands is the same.
7: Four players may go up to 13 cards each. That hand uses the whole deck.With no card left to turn up, it is played without trumps.
8: Another common game: 7 cards down to 1 and back to 7, whatever the head count.That is 13 hands, the game known in Britain as Contract Whist.
Bidding and the hook 9
1: Bids go around once, clockwise from the dealer's left. The dealer bids last.The scorekeeper writes each bid down as it is made.
2: A bid can be changed only until the next player has bid.After that it stands.
3: Worked hook: 3 cards each, bids of 1, 0 and 1. The dealer may bid 0, 2 or 3, not 1.A bid of 1 would make the bids add up to 3, the tricks in the hand.
4: Bids already past the number of tricks? The dealer may bid anything.With 3 cards each and bids of 2, 1 and 1, no bid can bring the total back to 3.
5: Because of the hook, at least one player misses the bid on every hand.Every hand is over-bid or under-bid.
6: A bid of zero is a promise to take no tricks.Made, it scores the 10-point bonus like any other exact bid.
7: Not every card is in play. The undealt cards stay face down.A king can be the highest card of its suit in a small hand.
8: Variation, no hook: the dealer may bid any number, so every player can make the bid.Tables argue over which way takes more skill.
9: Variation, fists: everyone bids at once by holding out fingers on a count of three.No hook applies, since nobody bids last.
Scoring, three ways 8
1: Common scoring: 1 point a trick for everyone, and 10 more for an exact bid.A player who misses still scores the tricks taken.
2: Exact bids only: a made bid scores 10 plus the bid, and a missed bid scores nothing.Made bids of 0, 1 and 2 score 10, 11 and 12.
3: That game is called Blackout or Blob: the scorekeeper blacks out each missed bid.A made bid gets a 1 written in front of it, so a bid of 2 reads 12.
4: Zero bids: some tables give a made zero 5 points, or 5 plus the cards dealt.A made zero on a 7-card hand is then worth 12.
5: Plus and minus: a made bid scores 10 a trick, and a made zero scores 10.A miss loses 10 for each trick over or under the bid.
6: Worked hand, common scoring: bids of 3, 0 and 1, and tricks of 3, 1 and 1.The scores are 13, 1 and 11.
7: A tie after the last hand: play one more hand of the largest size.Repeat until one player leads. Any player can win it, not only those who tied.
8: Whatever the method, the highest running total after the last hand wins.Keep the running total under each player's column.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words. Oh Hell is a traditional card game with no governing body, played under many names and with many ways of scoring. The standard sheet follows the card game rules site Pagat: https://www.pagat.com/exact/ohhell.html, read on 2026-10-09: three to seven players and a 52-card deck with aces high; a first hand of 10 cards each for three to five players, 8 for six and 7 for seven; each hand one card smaller down to a single card and then one larger back up; the next card turned for trumps; bids made in turn from the dealer's left, everyone bidding and zero allowed; the dealer, last to bid, barred from the number that makes the bids equal the tricks; the player on the dealer's left leading; players following suit when they can and otherwise playing any card; the highest trump or the highest card of the suit led winning; and 1 point a trick plus 10 for an exact bid. A bid changed only before the next player bids, the cards not in play, the other orders of hands, 13 cards each for four players without trumps, the game without the hook, bidding with fists, scoring exact bids only as 10 plus the bid (the game called Blackout or Blob), 5 or 5 plus the cards dealt for a made zero, 10 a trick won or lost, and the extra hand after a tie are as Pagat gives them. English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Oh hell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_hell, read the same day, gives the same game, the 19 deals of a four-player game, the names Contract Whist and Up and Down the River, and the British game of 13 deals from seven cards down to one and back. Both sources mention play for money; this page scores points only. The numbers of hands, the cards used by six and seven players and every worked example were counted for this page. Licence: own work
How it works
Oh Hell is a trick-taking card game for three to seven players and a regular deck. The hands shrink by a card each deal and then grow again, hence its other name, Up and Down the River. Some call it Contract Whist or Blackout.
Read the full guide
How do you play the Oh Hell card game? One hand
Five cards each, and a heart is turned up, so hearts are trumps. You hold the ace of hearts and little else, and bid one. Now the job is to win that one trick and lose the other four: taking exactly one scores 11 points, and taking two scores 2.
The bid that may not add up
The dealer bids last and may not name the number that would make the bids equal the tricks in the hand. Bidding and the hook works it through with numbers, and Hands by number of players shows how many deals a whole game takes.
Write every bid down before the first card is led. Nobody remembers them by the last trick.
Questions and answers
How do you play the Oh Hell card game?
Deal the hand and turn up a trump. Each player bids a number of tricks, dealer last. Play the tricks, following suit when you can. Score 1 point a trick, plus 10 for taking exactly your bid. Then deal one card fewer.
How many cards do you deal in Oh Hell?
Ten each on the first hand with three to five players, eight each with six and seven each with seven. Every later hand is one card smaller, down to a single card, and then the hands grow back to the starting size.
What is the hook in Oh Hell?
The rule that the dealer, who bids last, may not bid the number that would make all the bids add up to the tricks available. Every hand is over-bid or under-bid, so at least one player has to miss.
Can you bid zero in Oh Hell?
Yes. A bid of zero means taking no tricks, and making it earns the 10-point bonus. Everyone must bid something; nobody may pass. Some tables score a made zero as 5, or as 5 plus the cards dealt.