Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Contract whist rules

Contract whist is a trick-taking card game in which players bid how many tricks they expect to win each hand, with scoring based on accuracy.

Also called
Oh Hell, Nomination whist1
Starting hand
7 cards per player, decreasing by 1 each hand to 1, then back to 71
Scoring (common)
1 point per trick plus 10-point bonus for making the bid1

Key points

  • Players bid the exact number of tricks they expect to win; the dealer cannot bid so that total bids equal cards dealt.1
  • The hand size changes each round, typically starting at 7 cards and decreasing to 1 before increasing again.1
  • Scoring rewards accuracy: a player who makes their bid gets a bonus, while missing the bid scores only the tricks taken.2

Where this term is used

Not the same as

  • Whist — a simpler trick-taking game without a bidding phase or changing hand sizes
  • Contract bridge rules pdf — a more complex game with a fixed 13-card deal and a partnership bidding system
Card games Solo whist rules A variant of whist with a solo bidding phase. Card games Whist The classic trick-taking game that contract whist builds upon. Card games Rummy rules A matching-card game, not a trick-taking game. Card games Cribbage rules A card game with a cribbage board for scoring, unrelated to whist. Card games Euchre rules A trick-taking game with a trump suit and a different bidding system. Card games Contract bridge rules pdf A complex partnership trick-taking game with a fixed 13-card deal.

Sources

  1. Oh hell en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition, alternative names, hand size sequence, and scoring details for contract whist.
  2. Whysteria - card game rules pagat.com Confirms the bidding mechanism and scoring rules for the Oh Hell family of games.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.