Nomination Whist: The Trick-Taking Game Where Every Bid Counts

Introduction

Nomination Whist — known affectionately as Nom, and also called Oh Hell, Blob, Elevator, or a dozen other names depending on where you are — is one of the most satisfying trick-taking card games ever devised. Its premise is deceptively simple: before each round, you predict exactly how many tricks you will win. Get it right, and you score handsomely. Get it wrong by even one trick, and you score nothing. That binary outcome, repeated across a series of rounds with changing hand sizes, creates a game of extraordinary tension and strategic depth.

What makes Nomination Whist so compelling is that it rewards accuracy over ambition. Unlike many trick-taking games where the goal is simply to win as many tricks as possible, Nom demands precision. Winning six tricks when you bid five is just as catastrophic as winning four. This inversion of the usual trick-taking logic forces players to think differently — sometimes you must deliberately lose tricks to hit your bid, which is a skill entirely absent from games like Bridge or Hearts.

Nomination Whist has been played in British pubs, Commonwealth card clubs, and family living rooms for well over a century. Its rules are simple enough to teach in five minutes, yet the game generates moments of genuine drama — particularly in the single-card round, where your entire fortune rests on one card and one bid, and the final rounds where scores are tight and every trick matters.

The Deck & Players

Nomination Whist uses a single standard 52-card deck. Cards rank in the standard order: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low). There are no jokers and no special cards.

The game accommodates 3 to 7 players, with 4 or 5 players generally considered the sweet spot. The number of players determines the maximum number of cards that can be dealt per round:

The 7-down-to-1-and-back-up-to-7 structure is the most widely played format, producing 13 rounds per game. Some groups play only the descending half (7 down to 1, for 7 rounds), while others extend the range depending on player count. With 3 or 4 players, some groups deal up to 10 or even 13 cards in the opening round.

You also need a scorepad and pen to track bids and scores across rounds. A simple grid with player names across the top and round numbers down the side works perfectly.

Object of the Game

The objective of Nomination Whist is to accumulate the highest total score across all rounds. You score points in a round only if you win the exact number of tricks you bid. If you bid 3 and win 3, you score. If you bid 3 and win 2 or 4, you score nothing. The player with the most points after all rounds have been played wins the game.

This all-or-nothing scoring system is the heart of Nom. It means a player who consistently bids accurately — even making modest bids of 1 or 2 — will usually beat a player who bids aggressively but misses frequently. Consistency is king.

Setup & Deal

Setting up a game of Nomination Whist takes only a moment:

1. Choose the first dealer by any agreed method (drawing cards, cutting the deck, or simply volunteering). The deal rotates clockwise after each round.
2. Agree on the deal structure. The standard format is 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5-6-7, but confirm this before starting. Also agree on whether the dealer’s bid will be restricted (see Bidding below).
3. Prepare the scorepad. Write each player’s name across the top of a grid, with numbered rows for each round.
4. Shuffle and deal. For the first round (typically 7 cards), the dealer shuffles the deck and deals the appropriate number of cards to each player, one at a time, clockwise.
5. Turn up the trump card. After dealing, the dealer turns the next card from the deck face up and places it on the table. The suit of this card is the trump suit for the round. The turned-up card is not used in play — it merely establishes trumps.

If the deal structure includes a no-trump round (often the 1-card round, or a designated round), no trump card is turned up and the round is played without a trump suit. Some groups allow the dealer to choose the trump suit on specific rounds, while others always turn a card.

Bidding (Nomination)

After the cards are dealt and the trump suit established, the bidding phase begins. This is the phase that gives the game its name — each player nominates (bids) how many tricks they expect to win.

1. Bidding starts to the dealer’s left The player to the dealer’s left bids first, announcing a number from 0 up to the number of cards dealt for that round. A bid of 0 (sometimes called “nil” or “nothing”) means the player intends to win no tricks at all.
2. Bidding proceeds clockwise Each subsequent player states their bid. There is no obligation to bid higher or lower than previous bids. You simply declare how many tricks you believe you can win based on your hand and the trump suit.
3. The dealer bids last The dealer has the advantage of hearing everyone else’s bid before making their own. However, in the most common version of the rules, the dealer faces a crucial restriction: the dealer cannot bid a number that would make the total bids equal the number of tricks available. For example, in a 7-card round where the first three players have bid 2, 1, and 3 (totalling 6), the dealer cannot bid 1. This “bust” rule ensures that at least one player must fail every round, preventing the possibility of everyone making their bid.
4. Record all bids on the scorepad Write down each player’s bid for the round. Many scorekeepers also note the total bids and how far over or under they are from the number of tricks available, as this indicates how competitive the round will be.

How to Play

After bidding, the trick-taking phase begins. Play follows standard Whist family rules, which will be familiar to anyone who has played Bridge, Spades, or Hearts.

1. The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick This player places any card from their hand face up on the table. The suit of this card is the led suit for the trick.
2. Each player must follow suit if possible Proceeding clockwise, each player must play a card of the led suit if they hold one. This is mandatory — you may not play a different suit if you can follow. If you cannot follow suit (you have no cards of the led suit), you may play any card from your hand, including a trump.
3. Determine the trick winner The trick is won by:
   • The highest trump card played, if any trump was played.
   • The highest card of the led suit, if no trump was played.
   A card from a suit that is neither the led suit nor trumps cannot win a trick, regardless of its rank.
4. The trick winner leads the next trick The player who won the trick gathers the cards and places them face down, then leads any card to start the next trick.
5. Continue until all cards are played Play continues until every player has played all their cards. Each player then counts the tricks they won.

Scoring

Scoring in Nomination Whist is clean and decisive:

• If you win exactly the number of tricks you bid: score 10 + the number of tricks bid.
• If you win more or fewer tricks than your bid: score 0 points.

Notice that bidding zero and succeeding is worth 10 points — the same as bidding 1 and winning one trick (11 points) minus only one point. This makes zero-bids highly efficient when your hand is weak. The risk-reward ratio improves as you bid higher: successfully bidding 5 earns 15 points, but the difficulty of winning exactly 5 tricks makes it a much riskier proposition.

After scoring each round, add the points to each player’s running total. The player with the highest cumulative score after all 13 rounds (in the standard format) wins the game.

The Single-Card Round

The 1-card round is the most famous and dramatic moment in any game of Nomination Whist. Each player receives a single card, looks at it, and must decide whether to bid 0 or 1. There is no room for nuance — you will either win the trick or you will not.

In the standard version, players hold their single card so only they can see it. A trump card is turned up. Each player bids 0 or 1. Then the player to the dealer’s left leads their card, and the trick plays out normally. The highest trump wins; if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.

The 1-card round is almost entirely luck, but it generates disproportionate excitement. Players agonise over whether their Queen of Hearts is strong enough to bid 1 when the trump suit is Spades. They curse when their Ace of trumps is led into and beaten by nothing because they were the only player with that suit. The round takes 30 seconds to play but produces stories that last all evening.

No-Trump Rounds

Many groups incorporate no-trump rounds into Nomination Whist, where no trump card is turned up and the round is played without a trump suit. Common approaches include:

• The 1-card round is always no-trump. This is the simplest approach and makes the single-card round even more unpredictable.
• One designated round per game is no-trump. The group agrees in advance which round (often the middle or final round) is played without trumps.
• The dealer chooses. In some versions, the dealer can opt for no-trump instead of turning up a card, adding a strategic layer to the dealer’s role.

No-trump rounds fundamentally change the dynamic of play. Without the ability to ruff (play a trump when void in the led suit), high cards in side suits become more valuable and players cannot escape losing tricks in suits where they hold high cards. Aces become near-guaranteed trick winners, and long suits become more dangerous. Bidding accuracy requires a different kind of hand evaluation in no-trump rounds.

Strategy Tips

Common Variations

Nomination Whist is one of those games where every group has its own “house rules.” Here are the most common variations:

Scoring Variations

• 10 + tricks bid: The standard scoring described above. Simple and widely used.
• 10 + tricks bid squared: A variant where the bonus equals the square of the bid (e.g., bid 3 = 10 + 9 = 19 points). This rewards aggressive bidding more heavily and produces more volatile scores.
• 1 point per trick for missed bids: Some groups give 1 point per trick won even if the bid was missed, softening the blow of a bad round. This reduces the all-or-nothing tension but keeps weaker players competitive.
• Penalty for missing: In some versions, missing your bid costs you points (e.g., -1 for each trick above or below the bid). This makes the game harsher but even more strategic.

Deal Structure Variations

• 7-1-7: The standard 13-round format described throughout this article.
• 7-1 only: A quicker 7-round game using only the descending half.
• 10-1-10: Used with 3 or 4 players for a longer game with larger hands.
• 1-7-1: Ascending then descending, starting with the chaotic 1-card round for an explosive opening.

Bidding Variations

• No dealer restriction: The dealer may bid freely, including a number that makes the total equal to the tricks available. This softens the game but removes one of its most interesting strategic elements.
• Hidden bids: All players write their bids down simultaneously and reveal them at the same time. This removes the positional advantage of bidding later and changes the game significantly. Each player must evaluate their hand in isolation.
• Blind bidding on 1-card round: Some groups require players to bid on the 1-card round before looking at their card, making it pure gambling and a source of great entertainment.

Trump Variations

• Dealer chooses trumps: Instead of turning up a card, the dealer examines their hand and declares a trump suit (or no trumps). This gives the dealer significant power and partially compensates for the bidding restriction.
• Fixed no-trump rounds: Specific rounds (often the 1-card round and/or the final round) are always played without trumps, regardless of other rules.

Nomination Whist Across Cultures

Nomination Whist goes by an extraordinary number of names worldwide, a testament to its broad appeal. In the United States, it is commonly called Oh Hell (or the more polite “Oh Pshaw” and “Oh Well”). In Australia, it is often known as Contract Whist. In Britain, Nom is the casual shorthand. The game is also known as Blob (because you draw a blob next to your name when you miss your bid), Elevator (because the hand sizes go up and down), Blackout, Bust, and Boerenbridge in the Netherlands.

Despite the many names, the core game is remarkably consistent across cultures. The deal structure, bidding mechanic, and scoring system may vary slightly, but the fundamental concept — bid exactly, score exactly — remains universal. This simplicity and universality explain why Nomination Whist has thrived for over a century without any single publisher, organisation, or tournament circuit promoting it. It spreads the old-fashioned way: from player to player, from family to family, from pub to pub.

The game’s closest relative in the broader card game world is Romanian Whist, which shares the exact-bidding mechanic and the descending-ascending deal structure but has developed its own distinctive conventions and scoring in Romanian card-playing culture.

Frequently Asked Questions