How to Play Up and Down the River

Up and Down the River is a prediction-based card game where you bet on how many tricks you'll win each round — get it wrong and you drink.

What You'll Need

Up and Down the River (also called "Oh Hell" or "Sergeant Major" in different regions) is a trick-taking card game that rewards prediction as much as card skill. Here's what you need:

One standard 52-card deck
3 to 8 players (best with 4-6)
Something to track scores — a notepad, phone, or just a good memory
Drinks for the drinking game version (optional but traditional)

Setup

Designate one player as the dealer. The number of cards dealt per player changes each round — that's what makes this game "up and down the river."

Standard progression:

Start with 1 card per player (round 1)
Increase by 1 card each round going "up" — 1, 2, 3, 4... up to the maximum
Then decrease back down — the maximum, minus 1 each round... back to 1

The maximum number of cards depends on player count. With a 52-card deck, divide 52 by the number of players and round down (e.g., 6 players = max 8 cards per round).

After dealing, flip the next card face-up to establish trump suit. The trump suit beats all other suits in trick-taking.

How to Play

Bidding Phase

Before each round of tricks, every player looks at their hand and bids — a prediction of exactly how many tricks they think they'll win this round. Bidding goes clockwise starting left of the dealer.

Here's the catch: the total bids cannot equal the number of tricks available. The dealer (last to bid) must make a bid that keeps the total off. This ensures at least one person won't hit their bid — someone always drinks.

Trick-Taking Phase

The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick by playing any card. Everyone else must follow suit if they can. If you can't follow suit, you can play any card — including trump.

Highest card of the led suit wins the trick, unless someone played trump. Highest trump card wins. The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Keep track of how many tricks you've won. You need to hit your bid exactly — not more, not less.

Scoring

Standard scoring:

Hit your bid exactly: score 10 points + the number of tricks won
Miss your bid: lose 1 point per trick over or under your bid

Drinking game version:

Miss your bid: drink once for each trick you were off (over or under)
Hit your bid exactly: assign drinks equal to your bid to any other player(s)
Bid zero and make it (win zero tricks): give out 3 drinks to distribute however you like
Bid zero and fail (accidentally win a trick): drink 3

Winning

In the standard version, the player with the highest score after completing all rounds (up and then back down) wins.

In the drinking game version, survival is the goal. There's no hard winner — just people who predicted better and drank less.

Tips & Strategy

Count your high cards. Aces and face cards in non-trump suits will usually win tricks. Trump cards will almost always win unless a higher trump is out.
Track what's been played. Once the trump Ace is gone, the King becomes the top trump. Adjust your strategy as the round progresses.
Bid conservatively early. In round 1 with only 1 card, there's high variance. As rounds get longer, your hand gives you more information to bid accurately.
The dealer has an advantage — and a burden. Dealers see all other bids before bidding, giving them information. But they're also forced to make the bid that keeps the total uneven.
Low bids (0 or 1) are powerful late game. When the table is drunk and losing track, a disciplined 0-bid can be devastating — just don't accidentally win a trick.

Variations

No Trump Rounds

Some groups play rounds without a trump suit — the highest card of the led suit always wins. This increases variance and makes prediction harder.

Exact Bid Bonus

In competitive versions, hitting your exact bid gets a massive bonus (sometimes double points). Makes every bid feel high stakes.

Sergeant Major (3-Player Variant)

A popular 3-player variant where each player is dealt 16 cards and must win exactly 8, 5, or 3 tricks depending on their designated role. Roles rotate each hand.

Speed Round

Only go "up" the river — start at 1, max out, stop. Half the game, twice the pace. Great for groups who want to try it before committing to a full session.

Note: The drinking game version of Up and Down the River is intended for adults 21 and older. Please drink responsibly.