Oh Hell
Up and Down the River
The trick-taking game where only an exact bid scores. Say how many tricks you'll take, then take exactly that many, from seven cards down to one.
Learn how to playPlayers
Length
bs.fyiCARD GAMES
The British version: Nomination Whist
Play the Oh Hell card game online for free
Oh Hell is the trick-taking game where you say exactly how many tricks you will take, then try to take that many: no more, no less. Play it free in your browser against bots, or open a private table and send the link to friends and family. No download, no account.
It goes by many names: Up and Down the River, Oh Pshaw, Blackout and Bust. Tables seat 3 to 7, and bots fill any empty seats. In Britain the family is best known as Nomination Whist, where trumps rotate by round and every trick scores a point: it has its own table.
How to play Oh Hell
- Deal. Everyone gets seven cards in the first round, then one card fewer each round, down to one. A full game climbs back up to seven.
- Trumps. The next card is turned face up. Its suit is trumps for the round, and any trump beats every other suit.
- Bid. Starting left of the dealer, everyone bids how many tricks they will take. The dealer bids last and may not make the bids add up to the number of tricks.
- Play. Follow suit if you can. The highest trump takes the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
- Score. Take exactly the tricks you bid for 10 points plus your bid. Miss by one either way and you score nothing for the round.
Play against AI opponents
The bots never see your cards. Easy bots guess at their bids; Medium bots count their aces and trumps and duck once they have their bid; Hard bots also count the cards played, judge when a long trump suit will win tricks, and play low early so their winners take the tricks they need.
Learn the full Oh Hell rules
Hand sizes from seven cards down to one and back up, the trump card, bidding and the hook rule, following suit, and scoring 10 plus your bid.
Read the full Oh Hell rules