Contents
Whist Basics
How to Play Whist
Basic Whist Strategy
Whist Variations
Bid Whist
Oh Hell
German (Two-Player) Whist
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Oh Hell
One of the most popular variants of whist, this game goes by dozens of different names, including old heck, contract whist, Romanian whist, blackout, and risk it for a biscuit. Oh hell can be played by anywhere from three to seven players, and there are no teams—the players are all out to win for themselves. Oh hell involves bidding and also introduces some game play rules that vary from those in standard whist.
Dealing
In the first round of play, each player receives only one card. With each successive round, the size of the hands dealt is increased by one card until a round occurs in which all cards are dealt. For example, if there are five players, the rounds increase by one card until the game reaches a round in which each player holds 10 cards. If there are seven players, the rounds increase until each player holds seven cards. At this point, each round decreases the number of cards by one until dealing is back to one card.
Draw cards to determine the dealer for the first round—the highest card deals first. The deal then moves counterclockwise around the table with each round.
Determining the Trump Suit
Trump is determined largely in the same way as in standard whist—by turning the last card face up. Unlike in standard whist, however, the card turned over should not be the last card dealt but rather the first card from the excess cards in the deck. (The sole exception to this rule comes in the final round of a four-player game, when all the cards will be dealt—in that case, the final card dealt determines trump.)
Always reveal trump before bidding begins. In some versions, games with five or 10 cards in the hand are played as no trump hands.
Bidding
In oh hell, each player must make the exact number of tricks that he bids. Bidding begins in each round with the player to the dealer’s left. You may bid as many tricks as there are cards in your hand (which changes each round). However, keep in mind that in order to score points, you must win
exactly the number of tricks you bid—unlike in standard or bid whist, you are penalized for winning too many tricks.
The last player to bid (always the dealer) is not permitted to bid an amount that would make the total number of tricks bid equal to the total played. This rule ensures that there is never a round in which all players win their bids. For example, if each of five players has seven cards, and the four players before the dealer have bid 2, 2, 0, and 1, respectively, the dealer cannot bid 2.
Scoring
There are as many variations for scoring oh hell as there are names for the game. The most common methods of scoring are:
- Basic scoring: Players who make their bids score 1 point for each trick made, plus 10 points for making their bids. Players who miss their bids by winning either too few or too many tricks score nothing.
- Progressive scoring: All players begin with a base of 10 for the round. Those who make their bids score 10 plus their bid times 3. (For example, a player who bids and makes 3 will score 10 + (3 × 3) = 19). Those who don’t make their bid subtract a multiple of 3 from 10 by how many they are off. (For example, a player who bids 2 but makes 4 tricks will score 10 – (2 × 3) = 4.) Another variation of progressive scoring uses the square of the bid rather than the bid times 3.
The player with the highest score at the end of the last round is the winner.
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