How to Play

Oh Pshaw is the American branch of the Oh Hell family: a trick-taking game where 3 to 7 players must win exactly the number of tricks they bid. Unlike classic Oh Hell, Oh Pshaw has no 'hook' rule; the dealer is free to bid whatever they want.

Oh Pshaw is the American branch of the Oh Hell family: a trick-taking game for 3 to 7 players in which you must win exactly the number of tricks you bid (no more, no less). The distinguishing feature of Oh Pshaw versus the classic Oh Hell is the absence of the 'hook' rule (the dealer is free to bid whatever they want, even if it makes total bids equal the number of tricks), and a deal schedule that only ascends: round 1 uses 1-card hands, round 2 uses 2-card hands, and so on up to the maximum hand the deck can support. Each round takes a minute or two; a full match is 13 to 17 rounds and lasts 30 to 60 minutes.

Players

3 to 7 players, every player for themselves (no partnerships). The first dealer is chosen by cutting for low card. The deal rotates one seat clockwise each round so every player deals roughly the same number of times across a match.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card deck, no jokers. All four suits and all thirteen ranks are used. Within each suit, cards rank from Ace (high) down through King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low). A trump suit is set each round (see Setup and Deal).

Objective

Across a fixed series of rounds, score as many points as possible. In each round you score points only if you capture the exact number of tricks you bid before the round began; overshooting and undershooting both score zero. The player with the highest cumulative score at the end of the match wins.

Setup and Deal

1. Agree on the number of rounds before starting. Common settings: 13 rounds for 4 players (hand sizes 1 through 13); 15 rounds for 3 players; or fix the maximum to 10 and play 1 through 10. With more than 4 players, the maximum is limited by deck size (with 7 players, hands can only grow to 7 cards because 52 / 7 = 7 with 3 cards for trump flipping).
2. Each round: shuffle thoroughly, offer a cut, and deal the agreed number of cards for that round to each player, one at a time clockwise starting with eldest hand (the player to the dealer's left).
3. Turn the next card from the remaining stock face-up beside the stock; its suit is the trump suit for this round. Example: if the flipped card is , hearts are trump. Leave the flipped card face-up and untouched until the round ends.7♥
4. Max-hand no-trump round (optional rule): In the round that uses every card in the deck (only possible with deck size exactly equal to players times hand size), there is no trump card to flip; the round is played no-trump. With 52 cards and 4 players, this happens when hands reach 13; at that point the stock is empty, so no trump flip is possible.
5. Misdeal: A deal is void if any player receives the wrong number of cards or if a card is exposed during the deal; re-shuffle and re-deal with the same dealer.

Bidding

1. Who bids first: After looking at their cards, each player bids the number of tricks they intend to win this round. Bidding begins with eldest hand (left of the dealer) and proceeds clockwise; the dealer bids last.
2. Legal bids: Any whole number from 0 up to the number of cards in hand for that round. For a 1-card round the only legal bids are 0 or 1; for a 7-card round, 0 through 7.
3. No hook rule in Oh Pshaw: Unlike classic Oh Hell, the dealer is free to bid whatever they like, even if it makes the total of all bids equal to the tricks available. The scorekeeper announces whether the total is 'over', 'under', or 'even' after all bids are in; this information helps the play but is not a restriction.
4. Bids are binding: Once stated, a bid stands for the round. Bidders announce out loud and the scorekeeper records each bid beside the player's name.

Gameplay

1. Leading the first trick: Eldest hand leads any card. Play proceeds clockwise.
2. Trick structure: Each player in turn plays one card face-up to the centre. You must follow suit if you hold any card of the led suit. If you cannot follow, you may play any card (trump or off-suit).
3. Winning a trick: The highest trump card played wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins. Off-suit non-trump cards cannot win. The trick winner collects the played cards face-down in front of them (stacked to allow counting later) and leads to the next trick.
4. End of the round: The round ends when all cards are played; each player counts the tricks they captured.
5. Reneging (revoking): Failing to follow suit when able is a renege. If caught before the next trick is led, the offender takes back the illegal card and plays a legal one. If caught later, the standard penalty is to score zero for that round regardless of tricks taken (some houses also add a 10-point deduction); the trick's outcome stands.

Scoring

• Hit your bid exactly: Score 10 points plus 1 point per trick bid. For example, bid 3 and win 3 scores 13; bid 0 and win 0 scores 10 (this is why zero-bids are valuable).
• Miss your bid (over or under): Score 0 points for the round. Some houses use a softer penalty (for example 1 point per trick actually won, without the 10-point hit bonus); agree before the match starts.
• Running total: Cumulate scores across all rounds. The scorekeeper writes each player's score per round in a table alongside the bid for easy reference.
• Hard-scoring option: Some variants give a one-time bonus of 10 to the round winner (the player with the highest score that round); this is an optional house rule.

Winning

• Match winner: After the agreed number of rounds, the player with the highest cumulative score wins.
• Tie-breakers: If two or more players are tied on the top score at the end, play one more round with the maximum hand size (or an agreed tie-break round); the highest score in that extra round wins. If still tied, repeat with another round.
• Partial-match endings: If play must stop early (time, venue), the leader at that point is the winner; settling mid-round, the scores carry as they stand.

Common Variations

• Classic Oh Hell (with hook rule): The dealer is forbidden from bidding a number that would make the bids total equal to the tricks available, guaranteeing at least one player misses. Stricter and more cut-throat than Oh Pshaw.
• Up and Down the River: Ascending then descending deal schedule (1, 2, ..., max, ..., 2, 1). Longer match.
• Contract Whist: Fixed schedule 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (13 rounds). Trump can rotate through hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades instead of being flipped.7♠6♠5♠4♠3♠2♠
• Wizard: Adds four Wizards (always win the trick) and four Jesters (always lose); more strategic depth and higher win rate for skilled players.
• No-trump final round: In some groups, the last round of the match is always played no-trump regardless of card supply.
• Softer scoring: 1 point per trick actually taken for every player regardless of bid; 10-point bonus for hitting the bid exactly. More points move around; luck matters less.

Tips and Strategy

• Bidding 0 is powerful: it scores 10 whenever you can keep yourself out of the tricks, which is often easier than winning a specific number. Short hands with no high cards and no trumps are textbook 0 bids.
• Count your likely winners: count Aces of side suits, guaranteed trumps (sequence holdings), and Kings behind already-played Aces. Bid near that number.
• Pay attention to the 'over/under/even' announcement after bidding; if bids are under, someone must over-perform, so playing aggressively to force tricks onto an underbidder often helps. If over, dumping tricks is hard and you may need to short-suit yourself.
• Short hands (1-3 cards) are almost pure luck; bid either 0 or 1 based on whether you hold an Ace or trump card, and accept the variance.
• Track trumps played to know when they are exhausted; a long no-trump suit becomes winning once trumps are gone.

Glossary

• Trick: One round of play in which every player lays one card; the winning card captures the rest.
• Follow suit: Play a card of the suit that was led, if you have one. Mandatory where possible.
• Trump: The special suit chosen for this round by the flipped card; any card of the trump suit beats any card of a non-trump suit regardless of rank.
• Bid: A pre-play announcement of how many tricks you intend to win this round; must be made exactly to score.
• Hook rule: A restriction (used in classic Oh Hell but not in Oh Pshaw) preventing the dealer from bidding a number that makes total bids equal the tricks available.
• Eldest hand: The player to the dealer's left; first to bid and first to lead.
• Over / under / even: A scorekeeper announcement summarising whether the total of all bids is greater than, less than, or equal to the tricks to be won this round.
• Renege / revoke: An illegal failure to follow suit when able; penalised.