As mentioned, the standard variant of Oneonta Whist is a trick taking game for one player. A reduced version of the standard deck is used. This deck consists of all 10's, Jacks, Queens and Kings from a standard deck as well as two Jokers. These Jokers should be distinguishable from each other in some way so that one is the "Large Joker" and the other the "Small Joker". The ranking of the cards in this deck is as follows:
- In the designated trump suit : Large Joker, Small Joker, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10.
- In a non trump suit : Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10.
To begin the game, the deck should first be thoroughly shuffled by the player. After this he begins dealing. He deals two face-down hands, one by one. One hand is dealt in front of the player and another to the side (called the dummy hand). The first card dealt should go to the dummy hand, and the cards are dealt alternately to each hand until each hand contains 9 total cards. The remaining four cards are placed in the center of the table face-down and the top card from this bundle of four cards is turned face-up. The suit of this card is designated as the trump suit for the game. If a Joker is turned, this indicates that no particular suit is set as the trump suit, and the only trump card would the other Joker (winning any trick to which it is played to), if that cards is found in one of the hands. In this event, the Joker being the only card of the trump suit, if that Joker is led to a trick, the player can play any card from his hand to the trick, with the Joker always winning the trick.
After the hands have been dealt, since this a solitaire game, the player's hand should then be turned over and placed face-up on the table such that the player can see the entirety of his hand.
The player may not look at the dummy hand. After examining his hand, the player then makes a bid based on the number of tricks he believes (out of nine) he can win during this hand. There are two bid types the player can make:
- Positive Bid: A positive bid is a number, one to nine, of the exact number of tricks he believes he can win in the hand.
- Negative Bid: A negative bid, also called a null bid, is a bid to win zero tricks during the hand. A null bid is followed by a number (also from one to nine) representing the number of points he is willing to risk on the hand.
Scoring: After all nine tricks have been played, the player counts the number of trick he managed to win during the hand.
If the player made a positive bid and wins exactly as many tricks as bid, he wins that number of points. If he wins more tricks than bid, he wins a number of points equal to his bid, but must subtract one point for each trick he won over the number of tricks bid. If the player wins fewer tricks than bid, he loses a number of points equal to his bid.
If the player made a null bid, and wins no tricks during the hand, he wins a number of points based on the number of points he declared along with his null bid. However, if the player won one or more tricks, he loses a number of points based on the number he declared along with his null bid.
As a solitaire game, the player attempts to earn the highest score as possible over a certain, predetermined number of hands (such as 9).
Variations and Optional Rules
Doubling: An optional rule that is sometimes added to the game is that of Doubling. This rule was introduced in order to prevent pointless hands. If any player bids the maximum for hand or bids the maximum null value for the hand, the player also has the option to double this bid (called a Double or a Null Double). In this case, if the player manages to make his bid he earns 14 points, or if the bid is unsuccessful, that player would lose 14 points. Once a player elects to double during the bidding, no other players may also opt to double on that hand.
Alternative Scoring: Some players opt use an alternative scoring method. In this scoring variant, if the player wins more tricks than bid, they earn zero points for that hand. If the player as a positive score at the end of the game session, he is said to have beat the game. This scoring variant is usually only used in the solitaire variant of Oneonta Whist.
Edd Allard Variant: Other variants of Oneonta Whist have also been created, with one of the most popular known as the Edd Allard variant. This variant, named after it's developer, features the following differences (mostly involving the scoring):
- Each game consists of exactly nine deals.
- If the player manages to win at least as many tricks as bid during his hand, he earns a number of points equal to one for each trick bid, minus one point for each trick won over his bid during that hand.
- If a player fails to earn at least as many tricks as bid, he loses a number of points exactly equal to the amount of his bid on that hand.
- If a player bids null on a hand and wins no tricks during that hand, he earns 10 points for that hand.
- If a player bids null but wins one or more tricks during the hand he loses ten points and one additional point is lost for each trick won during that hand.
- After nine hands have been completed, the player then examines his total score. If he scores less than 30 points during the game, that game is considered a loss. If the player scores exactly 30 points during the game, this is considered a draw. If the player manages to score more than 30 points during the game he is said to have won.
Multiplayer Oneonta Whist: The creator of Oneonta Whist has also created a multiplayer variant of this game. In order to allow for each player to receive the minimum of seven cards required for a proper hand, the deck may need to be adjusted. Thus, the following chart shows the additions to the deck to allow varying number of players:
| Number of Players | Cards Dealt per Player | Changes to Deck Used |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 9 | Same as solitaire version; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 2 Jokers |
| 3 | 7 | Same as solitaire version. |
| 4 | 7 | Include additional cards from standard deck of rank 9 |
| 5 | 7 | Include additional cards from standard deck of rank 6 to 9. |
| 6 | 7 | Include additional cards from standard deck of rank 4 to 9 |
| 7 | 7 | Use full 52 card deck and two Jokers |
Trivia: The creator of Oneonta Whist named the game based on the first location in which this game caught on, which was Suny Oneonta College in Suny, New York. As the game also includes the Whist-like feature of turning over a card to establish the trump suit, the Whist moniker was also added.
The ranking of the cards uses the same ranking as in the solitaire version, with additional cards added, having the expected normal ranking. If the hand will be played with a Trump suit, the two Jokers are considered to be the highest cards of the trump suit, with the Big Joker the highest card in the trump suit and the Small Joker the next highest, and the remainder of the cards in the trump suit ranking in their normal order.
Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a variety of ways, with the most common being a draw for high cards from the deck. The player drawing the highest card has the first selection of seats at the table, with each player taking a seat in descending order of card drawn. The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer. After each hand the deal rotates around the table in a clockwise direction. Once determined, the first dealer should thoroughly shuffle the deck and offer it to the player at his immediate right to cut. After the cut, the dealer begins dealing in a clockwise direction around the table, starting with the first player to his right. The dealer continues dealing until each player has the requisite number of cards as per the chart above. The dealer then turns over the top card remaining from the undealt deck. The suit of this card is set as the trump suit for the hand. If this card is a Joker, the only trump "suit" for the hand will be the other Joker which will be considered to be it's own suit consisting of solely that one card.
After each player has been dealt his entire hand, the players pick up their hands for examination and bidding begins. On the first hand of the game the bidding starts with the player to the dealer's immediate left, but in subsequent hands, the player who had the highest number positive bid on the last hand has the first bid. If multiple players had the same number of cards bid, the player with the current most points, amongst those players would have the first bid. If still a tie amongst those players, the player among them who is the current dealer, or the closest to the dealer from a clockwise direction would make the first bid of the hand. After the first player bids, the bids continue in a clockwise direction around the table. Each player has one opportunity to bid and no player may pass. As in the solitaire version, a player may either make a negative or positive bid:
- Positive Bid: A positive bid is an estimate by the player of the exact number of tricks he intends to win during the hand. The minimum positive bid is one trick and the maximum positive bid being the number of cards dealt to the player.
- Negative Bid (Null Bid): A negative bid is a bid to win zero tricks during the hand. In addition to the Null bid, the player also states a number between one and the number of cards dealt to each player during the hand. This number is the number of points which the player will win or lose if the player manages to win no tricks during the hand.
The leader to a trick may play any card of choice from his hand to start the trick. Each other player, in a clockwise direction would then play one card from his own hand to the trick. If he has a card of the same suit as originally played to the trick he must play it. If he does not have such a card he may play any card from his hand including a card of the trump suit, if he has one. The highest card of the trump suit played to the trick wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins it. Cards won in tricks should be set aside, out of play. The leader of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
In the event in which a Joker is set as the only trump card, the Joker will always win any trick to which it is legally played to. If the Joker is led to the trick, the other players may play any card of choice from their hand, but the Joker will always win that trick.
After all tricks have been played and won, the hand is then scored. If a player wins exactly as many tricks as bid he wins that number of points to his current, accumulated score. If a player wins more than the number of tricks bid for, he wins the number of points he bid, but must subtract from his score one point for each trick over that amount he has won. If a player fails to earn at least as many points as bid, he must subtract from his current, accumulated score a number of points equal to his full bid. If a player made a negative bid and wins no tricks, he earns a number of points equal to the number he associated to his negative bid. If a player who made a negative bid wins one or more tricks, he loses a number of points equal to the number called with his bid of Null.
A number of hands is played equal to the number of cards dealt to each player on each hand. After this number of hands has been played, the player with the highest number of accumulated points is declared the winner. If two or more players tie for the high score, the other players must drop from the hand, and the tying players continue play, until at the completion of the hand, a player has a high score.
Cooperative Oneonta Whist: Richard Hutnik has also created two cooperative versions of Oneonta Whist. As cooperative games are quite rare, these cooperative versions can make for a great alternative to other competitive type games.
Cooperative Oneonta Whist is played almost identically to the standard multiplayer version, with the only different being that players are all considered on the same team and all players lose or all players are victorious as a single team.
Thus, the cards are shuffled and dealt as in the standard competitive version, using the chart in the competitive section to determine how many cards each player should receive and any adjustments that must be made to the deck. After the hands are dealt, the players then pick up their hands for examination. Before play begins players should determine how much discussion and communication regarding the cards in the hand is allowed. The less communication allowed the more challenging the game will be, but in no circumstances should the players be allowed to share the specific cards that are in his hand.
After the deal, the bidding begins, with the player to the immediate left of the dealer. He states the exact number of tricks he expects to win. As in the competitive version he may also state that he intends to win no tricks (a null bid), and should follow this bid with a number based on the number of points he would win or lose if he manages to fulfill that bid. Each other player, in a clockwise direction, must then make a bid of the number of tricks he expects to win. Each player has exactly one opportunity to bid, but the total sum of all the bids must exactly equal the number of cards dealt during the hand. The bids for each player should be recorded for determination if the players managed to win the number of tricks bid.
The player making the highest bid plays the first card to start the first trick. If two players tie for the highest bid during the hand, the player, amongst these players, who is the dealer or closer to the dealer from a clockwise direction plays first. Trick play is identical to that in the standard game.
After the hand completes, each player determines if he was able to win exactly the number of tricks won. The scoring for the hand is identical to the standard multi-player variant of the game, however the scores for each player are added together and credited to a single, central score retained for the entire team (no individual scores are totaled). A set number of hands should be played (say 9) and after that number has been played, the total score for the team is determined, with the object to maximize this score. Some players prefer an alternate method of scoring in which the team scores a number of points for the hand equal to the score for this hand based on the number of points (positive or negative) earned by the lowest scoring player on the hand.
Cooperative Oneonta Whist - Beat the Game Version: A second variant of Cooperative Oneonta Whist can also be played. This game is played very similarly to normal Cooperative Oneonta Whist. However, in this variant an extra hand is dealt. Thus, the number of cards found in the deck will be slightly different:
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Thus, in this variant, in addition to each player receiving his own hand, one extra dummy hand is also dealt out. This hand can be placed between the dealer and the player to his immediate left. This dummy hand should receive the same number of cards as each actual player in the hand. After the cards are dealt the next card in the deck is placed face up on the table to determine the trump suit for the hand. If this card is a Joker, the remaining Joker is considered the only trump and is considered to be of a suit in itself.
As in the standard cooperative game, each player will make a bid of the exact number of tricks he intends to win during the hand (which could also be a null bid). The dummy hand will also play a part in every trick, so this must be kept in mind when a player makes his bid. In this variant, the total sum of all the player's bids must be equal to or less than the total number of cards dealt to each player.
After the bids for each player are recorded, the play of the hand begins. The dummy hand leads the first card to the trick. Each player in turn, starting with the player to the current dealer's immediate left then plays a card from his own hand to the trick. The play of the hand to each trick is the same as in the standard cooperative variant, however, regardless of which player (or the dummy hand) wins each trick, the dummy hand always leads to the next trick. The tricks won by each player should be recorded for determination at the end of the hand if the players managed to win the hand.
At the end of the hand, the score for each player is added to a single, cumulative team score. No points are scored for hands won by the dummy hand. At the end of some set number of hands (say 9) the game is over and the end goal of the team of players is to maximize the number of points earned.