How to Play Hearts
Hearts is a trick-taking card game for four players. Your goal is to
finish with the lowest score by avoiding penalty cards. Each heart is
worth 1 point, and the Queen of Spades is worth 13 points.
Setup and Dealing
- Four players, standard 52-card deck, no trump suits.
- Deal 13 cards to each player, clockwise.
- Card ranks are Ace high down to 2 low.
Passing Cards
- Hand 1: pass three cards left.
- Hand 2: pass three cards right.
- Hand 3: pass three cards across.
- Hand 4: no passing. Cycle repeats.
Tricks and Play
- The player with the 2 of Clubs leads the first trick.
- You must follow suit if you can.
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No hearts or the Queen of Spades may be played on the first trick.
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Hearts cannot be led until they are "broken" (a heart is discarded
off-suit).
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The highest card of the suit led wins the trick and leads next.
Scoring and Endgame
- Each heart = 1 point. Queen of Spades = 13 points.
- First player to reach 100 ends the game.
- Lowest score wins; ties play additional hands.
Shooting the Moon
Capture all hearts and the Queen of Spades in one hand to "shoot the
moon." You score 0 and each opponent scores 26.
Strategies
- Pass away high hearts and the Queen of Spades.
- Void a suit to discard penalty cards safely.
- Track high cards to avoid taking late tricks.
- Lead low cards early to shed risk.
- Attempt shooting the moon only with a strong hand.