On the second hand, 9 cards are dealt per player, then 8, then 7, and so on down to 1 card per player. Using the 10.1.10 deal pattern, 10 cards are dealt per player on the first hand for 10 total tricks. After dealing cards to all four players, the next card is turned face-up in front of the dealer.
The starting and ending number of cards depend on the deal pattern selected (see Options, below). The number of cards dealt per player varies each hand going up one or down one from the previous hand. In the extreme case when the hand consists of only 1 trick, only 4 cards are dealt – 48 cards are out of play! The Deal In fact, the most cards dealt per hand with our current options is 40 (10 cards to each of 4 players). However, not all cards are dealt on any given hand. Oh Hell is played with a standard 52-card deck. More on these patterns in The Deal, below. Trickster Oh Hell offers four common hand patterns: 10.1.10, 1.10.1, 10.1, and 1.10. At the end of the hands, the player with the highest score wins. The most unique aspect of Oh Hell is the changing number of cards dealt per hand. Trump is set randomly by turning up the first undealt card. A bonus is awarded for taking exactly that number of tricks. Also known as Oh Pshaw, Blackout, Bust, or Blob (among other names), Oh Hell is an individual trick-taking game where players bid the number of tricks they expect to take.
