Oh Hell! (Card Game)

Growing up my grandmother used to play a lot of card games, some of which are not well known. One called the 'Mafia Game' consisted of runs (1-2-3-4...) and sets (I don't remember if this was of a suit or specific card) but you required certain configuration (1 set and 1 run or 1 set and 2 runs...) between each hand.

Another game has been easier to remember, its a variant of Canasta called 'Oh Hell' and followed closely the rules of Canasta with slight variations. It is a game for 2-4 players. When playing with four, players are split into two teams, alternating turns. You require canasta (sets of a specific card) that come in unnaturals (consisting of a wild card, Jokers and Twos) and naturals (no wild cards).

I will list the rules and then differences between Canasta and Oh Hell.

The game is played with 3 decks if 2 players and 4 decks if 4 players.
Each player is dealt two hands of 13 cards each.

The hands are stacked into piles without looking at them and the top card is compared. The hand with the high card is played. Twos and Jokers are equal (to 2), Ace is high. If both cards are the same, the hand held in the right hand is played first and the second hand is set aside.

The top card of the stock pile is flipped over and placed on the discard pile. If the player wants this card they may take it and replace it with a discard of their own. If they choose not to take this card, they draw two cards from the stock pile and then discard one. Unless going out or to their second hand, a player must discard. During the course of the game the stock pile may become exhausted. When this occurs the discard pile is reshuffled.

Players must 'meld' groups of cards in front of them in which they play their cards.  A meld is a group of cards all of the same rank (from 3 to Ace) In order to meld you must have at least 3 of the same rank.

At the start of the game you must be able to meld 50 points before you can play any cards to the board.
When your game score reaches 2,500 you must meld 90.
At 5,000 you must be able to meld 120.
At 7,500 you must be able to meld 150.

Red 3s are worth -300 points each.
Black 3s through 7 is worth 5 points each.
8-K is worth 10 points each.
Twos and Aces are worth 20 points each.
 Jokers are worth 50 points each.
Twos and Jokers are wild and can be meld with anything. The amount of wilds played on a meld can not outnumber the rank cards.

Once a player has meld sets onto the board, that players partner (if applicable) may play their own cards onto those sets. A partnership cannot have 2 sets of the same card. Any points played on a partners set does not count toward your own meld count.

When a player has exhausted all cards in their first hand, they may continue on to their second hand. If they exhaust their first hand without discarding they may continue to play during the same turn. If they discard they must wait until their next turn.

In order to 'go out' you (your partnership) must first have a' Natural' and 'Unnatural' Canasta. This means when playing with a partner that if you have no canasta but your partner has the required natural and unnatural that you are still eligible to go out. Natural Canasta are worth 500 points each, an Unnatural is worth 300 points.

A 'Natural' Canasta is a meld of seven cards of the same rank without any wild cards. An 'Unnatural' Canasta is a meld of seven cards with the use of wilds. To make it easier to identify what type a canasta is, a Red card is placed on top to signify a Natural and a black card to signal an unnatural. In the case of a Natural Black 3 canasta, inform the table that it is a natural.

Once a player has gone out the other players count the point value in their hands, as well as their second hands if they have not reached it, and subtract it from their teams score. Then the players count the points they have meld using the same values as above. Aside from the Canasta value, each card in a canasta is also counted individually.

Normally a game ends when a player (team) reaches 10,000 points. This can be extended to whatever value players at the table agree upon. In our games we had some marathon nights that we played to 100,000 points.

One big difference between this game and Canasta is that a second hand is dealt to each player. The player can not look at (excluding the top card when determining which hand to play) or play from this hand until he has played all of the cards in his first hand. Another big difference is that a player can pick up any card discarded without having to meld it. Instead of picking up the entire discard pile, the player only takes the top card.

Another BIG difference is in Canasta Black 3s are worth 100 points each and cannot be meld, in Oh Hell Black threes are ordinary and instead Red 3s have a Negative 300 points.