Hearts, trick by trick: passing, points and the moon

Players, deck, deal

The classic setup is four players and a full 52-card deck, thirteen cards each. Our version seats three to five and adjusts the deck accordingly: with three players the two of diamonds comes out (seventeen cards each), with five both the two of diamonds and the two of clubs go (ten cards each). The points do not change — every heart and the Queen of Spades stay in.

There is no trump suit. Ranking inside a suit is the usual one, deuce low, ace high.

Passing three cards

Before anyone plays, each player picks three cards and hands them to a neighbour without seeing what arrives in return. The direction rotates every deal: left, right, across, no pass at all, then around again. The no-pass deal is the tense one — you cannot dump anything dangerous and simply play what you were dealt.

You get 25 seconds to choose. Miss it and the engine passes your three most dangerous cards for you: the Queen and high spades first, then high hearts.

How a deal is played

1. The holder of the two of clubs leads, and must lead exactly that card. With five players the deuce is out of the deck, so the three of clubs leads instead.
2. Everyone else must follow the suit led. Void in that suit? Play anything you like — including a heart or the Queen of Spades.
3. The trick goes to the highest card of the suit led. Hearts beat nothing: a heart thrown into someone else's suit simply becomes their penalty points.
4. Whoever wins the trick leads the next one.

Two restrictions. On the first trick you cannot discard point cards if you have a safe alternative. And you cannot lead hearts until hearts are broken — that is, until someone has discarded a heart into another suit. If hearts are all you hold, you may lead them.

Points and the end of the match

Every heart is one penalty point and the Queen of Spades is thirteen. A deal contains exactly 26 points and everybody is trying not to collect them. As soon as one player reaches 50, the match ends and the player with the lowest total wins. This is a game you win by subtraction.

Shooting the moon

There is one way to win big in a single deal: take all 26 points — all thirteen hearts plus the Queen of Spades. Do it and you score zero while every opponent takes 26. An entire match can flip in one hand.

The downside is brutal. One heart slipping away and you finish with twenty-something points instead of nothing. A real attempt needs the ace and king of hearts, one long controlling suit and no holes in spades. Go for it when you already hold five or six hearts topped by honours — not on a hunch.

Six habits that keep your score at zero

• Count your spades. The Queen is safe if you hold four or more spades with two or three of them below her. Holding exactly two spades, one of which is the Queen? Pass her without thinking.
• The two and three of spades beat the ace. While you hold a guaranteed low spade you cannot be stuck with the Queen when spades get flushed out. Never pass those low ones away.
• Void yourself in diamonds or clubs. An empty suit is permission to discard a heart or the Queen herself. A spade void is worthless — there is nothing left to throw there.
• Duck properly. If the suit has already been taken by a queen, your best card is the jack: the highest one that still loses. That is how you shed honours without collecting points.
• Keep one guaranteed low card for the finish. By the last three tricks almost everything left is a point card, and whoever has to lead eats it. A lonely two of diamonds is worth more than an ace right then.
• Track whether the Queen has appeared. Until she does, your king or ace of spades is thirteen points in a single trick. Once she is gone, the same cards are ordinary again.

Why the last tricks hurt

Early tricks are harmless — few point cards are loose and everyone leads their long suits. The real game starts around trick eight, when half the table has voids and hearts start flying into every trick they cannot win. If you are still holding nothing but honours by then, you will collect everything left. Shed aces and kings early, while there is still something safe to lose them under.

Table size changes the feel. Three-handed, seventeen cards each: suits are long, voids appear late, and ducking accurately decides the match. Five-handed, ten cards each: voids happen by the third trick, the Queen drops early, and the deal is over before you can build much of a plan.

Hearts online, no sign-up

Hearts runs in a phone browser here: open a room, send the four-letter code and play three, four or five handed. Turns are 30 seconds and passing is 25; stall and the engine plays a safe card for you. Lose your connection and you drop straight back into the same deal.

Short of a third player? Add bots. They duck under tricks and refuse to spend the Queen without reason, so practising against them is not a waste. Hearts also fits a video call unusually well — a deal takes a couple of minutes and the conversation keeps going, which is the idea behind our games for video calls list. For something rowdier with the same group, try Durak or Truco, or dig through what to play with friends online.