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Oh Hell! rules

3–7 12m Simple Trick-taking

Goal

Score the most points over the match. In each deal, bid how many tricks you’ll take, and then take exactly that many.

Cards

A standard 52-card pack without Jokers, for 3 to 7 players.

Ranking

In each suit the Ace is high, then K, Q, J, and 10 down to 2. A trump beats every card of the other suits.

Starting hand

The dealer deals one card at a time, starting on their left, and turns up the next card. Its suit is trumps for the deal. The rest of the pack isn’t used.

The first hand is 10 cards with 3 to 5 players, 8 with 6, and 7 with 7. Each deal has one card fewer, down to 1. With Full the hands then grow back by one card a deal. Short starts at 5 cards at every table size.

Players First hand Full Down only Short
3 to 510 cards19 deals10 deals9 deals
68 cards15 deals8 deals9 deals
77 cards13 deals7 deals9 deals

Play

  1. Bid. Starting on the dealer’s left, each player bids how many tricks they’ll take, from 0 to the number of cards in their hand. A bid is final once it’s made.
  2. The dealer’s bid. The dealer bids last and can’t bid the number that would make the bids add up to the number of tricks.
  3. Lead. The player on the dealer’s left leads the first trick.
  4. Follow suit if you can. If you have no card of the suit led, play any card. You don’t have to play a trump.
  5. The highest trump takes the trick. With no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led takes it. The winner leads the next trick.
  6. Play every card. Then score the deal. The next dealer is the player on the left.

Scoring

You score 1 point for each trick you take. Take exactly the number you bid and you score 10 more, so an exact bid of 0 is worth 10 and an exact bid of 3 is worth 13. Miss your bid and you score only your tricks.

After the last deal the highest total wins. Players tied for it share the win.

Playing with your own deck

Use a standard pack without Jokers, and keep score on paper with a column for each player. Write each bid down as it’s made, so the dealer can see the total before bidding.

How this version differs

  • A tie for the highest total is a shared win.
Strategy tips
  • Once you have taken your bid, play under the winning card. One trick past your bid costs you the 10 points for being exact.
  • As the dealer, check the bid total before you pick. One number is usually refused, so you may have to bid one more or one fewer than your hand looks worth.
  • When the bids add up to more than the tricks, expect a fight for every trick. Somebody has to fall short, so every player who still needs a trick will try to take it.

Traditional BoardGameGeek Published rules

Play Oh Hell!