In Britain it is often known as Contract Whist or as Nomination Whist, a name which also sometimes refers to different games. Traditionally the size of the players' hands increases or decreases by one in each deal, and this has given rise to the names Elevator ( l'Ascenseur in France), Up and Down the River (in Australia and New Zealand) and 10 op en neer in the Netherlands. Its original name Oh Hell! evidently offended some people and has been bowdlerised in many books to Oh Pshaw! or Oh Well!, while others have preferred more robust alternatives such as Oh Shit! Some call it Blob or Blackout, perhaps because of the practice of recording a player's bid on the scoresheet and then obliterating it with a black blob if the player failed to take the predicted number of tricks.
This game, in which players try to predict the exact number of tricks they will win, first appeared in London and New York in the 1930's and has since become popular in many parts of the world.
This page was originally based on a contribution from Carter Hoerr, rulekeeper for the OH HELL! Club of America.
