How many points in Oh Hell? Bids, tricks and scoring explained

How it works

Oh Hell is played with a 52-card deck, by 3 to 7 players. It is a trick-taking game where the aim is not to win as many tricks as possible, but to win exactly the number you announced. It goes by many names: Rikiki, l’Ascenseur in France, Oh Hell in English, La Podrida in Spain. The trick rules are those of whist: you follow the suit led if you can, otherwise you play any card, trumps included; the highest trump wins the trick, or failing that the highest card of the suit led. The ace is the highest card.

The number of cards changes every round: one card each in the first, two in the second, three in the third, and so on up to the maximum, then back down to one card. It is this lift going up and down that gives the game its French name. After the deal, the next card of the pack is turned up: its suit is trumps for the round. When there is no card left to turn up (round at the maximum), you play without trumps.

Before play, everyone announces their bid, the number of tricks they expect to win, starting from the dealer’s left. The dealer bids last. The round is then played, and everyone’s points are counted.

The scoring

With the usual scoring, a bid of 3 that is made brings 13 points, a bid of 0 made brings 10, and any missed bid brings 0, whether you won one trick too many or too few. The penalty scoring (−1 or −10 per trick off) makes the game more cautious: missing by one trick costs less than missing by three, and “just in case” bids are avoided.

The 10-point base is what makes the game: a bid of zero that is made is worth almost as much as a bid of three. The best players score mostly by making lots of small bids, not by winning lots of tricks.

The number of cards per round

The maximum is the number of cards that can be dealt to each player: 52 divided by the number of players, rounded down. With 3 and 4, the full game is long; many tables stop at 10 cards, or play only the way up. Another common way is to start at the maximum and go down to one card, then back up. The counter offers all three orders and the maximum of your choice.

With a 32-card deck (7 to ace), the maximum drops to 10 cards with 3 players, 8 with 4, 6 with 5. You get shorter, tenser rounds, since every card counts for more.

The last-bid rule

In Oh Hell, there are always as many tricks as cards in hand. The rule that gives the game its bite: the total of the bids must not equal the number of tricks. It is the dealer, who bids last, who pays for it: if there are 3 tricks to go round and the others have bid 2, they may not bid 1. So at least one player will miss their bid every round.

This constraint changes the dealer’s strategy. They know the others’ bids, which helps, but they sometimes have a forbidden value, often the one that suited them. It rotates with the deal, so everyone suffers it in turn. Some tables drop it for the one-card round or for the whole game; the counter lets you switch it off.

When the total of the bids is higher than the number of tricks, the round is said to be “overbid”: players fight over tricks that will not go round. When it is lower, it is “underbid”: someone will pick up tricks they did not want. Knowing which is knowing whether to take tricks or to get rid of your high cards.

The one-card round

With a single card in hand, the bid is a pure bet: 0 or 1. You look at your card, you look at trumps, and you guess. The ace of trumps always wins; a low trump often wins with 3 players, rarely with 6; a non-trump card only wins if nobody trumps it and it is the highest of the suit led.

A very popular variant: the Indian round (or “card on the forehead”). Everyone holds their single card on their forehead without looking at it: you see the others’ cards, not your own, and you bid accordingly. It is the round everyone remembers at the end of the evening, and it is scored like the others.

Example: the first three rounds with four players

Emma, Nico, Pat and Lea, usual scoring (10 + 1 per trick, 0 if missed), last-bid rule. For each player: bid / tricks won, then points.

Round 1: Emma, Nico and Pat bid 0, 1 and 0, that is 1 for 1 trick. Lea, who deals, may not say 0 (the total would be 1): she bids 1 and misses it. Round 2: Nico, Pat and Lea bid 2 in total; Emma may not say 0, she says 1 and makes it. Round 3: 2 tricks bid before Nico, who may not say 1; he says 0 and makes it, while Pat, who wanted one, picks up two. Three rounds, and the dealer was constrained every time.

Variants

• Penalty per trick off: a missed bid costs −1 point per trick off (or −10). Cautious bids are rewarded, and the gaps between scores widen more slowly.
• 10 + 2 per trick: big bids are worth more; the game rewards strong hands rather than consistency.
• Without the last-bid rule: the dealer bids freely; the total can come out exactly and everyone can succeed. Calmer, with less bite.
• Down then up: you start at the maximum number of cards and go down to one card, then back up. The long rounds come while everyone is still fresh.
• No-trump round: the round at the maximum is played without trumps, or a no-trump round now and then, even when there is a card left to turn up.
• Indian round: with one card, everyone holds their card on their forehead: you see the others’ cards, not your own.
• Compulsory trumping: a player who cannot follow suit must trump if they have a trump. Closer to Belote, and the trumps run out faster.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the last-bid rule: it is the dealer who bids last and who may not make the total come out exactly; the counter reminds you by greying out the forbidden value.
• Counting the tricks won instead of the bid: a missed bid scores nothing, even with lots of tricks: 5 tricks on a bid of 3 is 0 points.
• Not rotating the deal: the dealer changes every round, and with them the player who suffers the last-bid constraint.
• Getting the number of cards wrong: after the round at the maximum, you go back down: writing the number of cards at the start of each line avoids wrong deals.
• Neglecting the zero bid: it is worth 10 points, as much as a made bid of almost any size; with 5 players or more, it is often the best bid.

Frequently asked questions