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Hearts Card Game Rules: How to Play Hearts

By H. Marcell · 9 min Reading time

Table of contents

Hearts is a four-player trick-taking game where the goal is to avoid taking penalty cards. Every heart is worth one point, and the Queen of Spades is worth thirteen. The player with the lowest score when someone reaches 100 points wins. That's the whole game in three sentences, but the interesting part is everything that happens in between: the passing phase that lets you shape your hand before play begins, the social dynamics of watching someone try to shoot the moon, and the constant tension between playing it safe and taking calculated risks.

The game has been a staple of card nights and computer screens for generations. Windows shipped a version with every copy of the operating system for decades, introducing it to millions of players who'd never sat down at a card table. If you learned Hearts on a computer, some of the rules here might be slightly different from what you remember, because there are several common variants. This guide covers the standard four-player rules.

Deal and Pass

Hearts is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player receives 13 cards. The deal rotates clockwise after each hand.

Before play begins, each player selects three cards from their hand and passes them face-down to another player. The direction of passing rotates each hand in a fixed sequence: left, right, across, and then no pass (sometimes called "hold"). After four hands, the cycle repeats. The passing phase is one of the most strategically rich parts of the game, because you're simultaneously trying to improve your own hand and damage your opponents'.

When passing left, you're giving cards to the player who will act before you on most tricks. Passing dangerous cards left means the player who receives them will often be leading into you, which can be advantageous. When passing right, you're giving cards to the player who acts after you, which means they'll often be playing after you've already committed. Passing across is the most neutral direction.

What to pass depends on your hand, but a few principles apply broadly. Void suits are powerful in Hearts, because if you have no cards in a led suit, you can discard penalty cards instead of following suit. Passing cards to create a void in one suit is a common strategy. Short suits (one or two cards) are candidates for passing, because completing the void is often worth more than keeping those cards.

The Queen of Spades deserves special attention. Holding the Queen of Spades is dangerous unless you also hold enough high spades to protect it. If you hold the Queen but not the King or Ace of spades, you're vulnerable to having the Queen forced out of your hand when spades are led. Passing the Queen of Spades is often correct unless you have a plan to protect it or you're attempting to shoot the moon.

High hearts are also worth considering for passing. The Ace, King, and Queen of hearts are likely to win tricks, and winning tricks with hearts means taking penalty points. If you hold several high hearts without a plan to use them offensively (i.e., you're not shooting the moon), passing one or two of them reduces your exposure.

Play of a Hand

The player holding the 2 of clubs leads the first trick. Every player must follow suit if they can. If a player can't follow suit, they may play any card. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick, and the winner leads the next trick.

Two restrictions apply at the start of the hand. First, hearts cannot be led until the suit has been "broken," meaning a heart has been discarded on a previous trick. Some groups also allow leading hearts if it's the only suit you have left, but the standard rule is that hearts can't be led until broken. Second, on the very first trick, penalty cards (hearts and the Queen of Spades) cannot be played, even if you have no clubs. The exception is if your entire hand consists of penalty cards, in which case you may play them.

Once hearts are broken, any player can lead a heart on their turn. The Queen of Spades can be played at any time after the first trick, as long as you're either following suit (spades were led) or you have no cards in the led suit.

The strategic core of trick play is managing when you take tricks and when you avoid them. Taking a trick with no penalty cards in it costs you nothing. Taking a trick that contains hearts or the Queen of Spades costs you points. The goal is to win the tricks you want (those with no penalty cards, or those you need to control the flow of the hand) and avoid the ones you don't.

High cards in non-heart suits are double-edged. The Ace of diamonds will win a trick, but if that trick contains hearts, you've just taken penalty points. Players often try to "dump" high non-heart cards early, before penalty cards start appearing in tricks. Leading a high card in a safe suit to win a trick with no penalties is called "eating" the trick, and it's a normal part of the game.

Scoring

At the end of each hand, players count the penalty cards in their won tricks. Each heart is worth 1 point. The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points. All other cards are worth 0 points. The maximum penalty in a single hand is 26 points (13 hearts plus the Queen of Spades).

Scores accumulate across hands. The game ends when any player reaches 100 points. At that point, the player with the lowest total score wins. Ties are broken by playing additional hands until the tie is resolved, though some groups simply declare co-winners.

The 100-point threshold creates interesting late-game dynamics. When one player is close to 100, other players may adjust their strategy to either push that player over the threshold or protect themselves from being the one who tips over. A player at 95 points is in a precarious position: one bad hand ends the game, and not necessarily in their favor.

Shooting the Moon

Shooting the moon is the most dramatic play in Hearts. If one player takes all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single hand, instead of scoring 26 points, they score 0 and every other player scores 26. It's a complete reversal of the normal scoring logic, and it can swing the game dramatically.

The full strategy for shooting the moon is covered in the Shooting the Moon guide. The short version: you need a hand with enough high cards to control the flow of tricks and enough hearts to collect all of them. It's a high-risk, high-reward play that requires both the right hand and the right read of the table.

One rule variant worth knowing: some groups allow the shooter to choose between adding 26 to everyone else's score or subtracting 26 from their own. This matters when someone is close to 100 points. If subtracting 26 from your own score would put you at a negative number, adding 26 to everyone else is usually better.

Common Variants

Omnibus Hearts adds the Jack of diamonds as a bonus card worth negative 10 points. Taking the Jack of diamonds in a trick subtracts 10 from your score. This variant rewards aggressive play and makes the game more volatile.

Black Maria is a British variant where the Queen of spades is called "Black Maria" and is sometimes accompanied by additional penalty cards: the Ace and King of spades also carry penalties. The exact penalties vary by group.

Spot Hearts scores each heart by its rank rather than a flat 1 point. The Ace of hearts is worth 14 points, the King 13, the Queen 12, and so on down to the 2 worth 2 points. This makes high hearts much more dangerous and changes the passing strategy significantly.

No passing is sometimes played as a variant for experienced groups who want a purer test of hand management. Without the passing phase, the game is entirely about playing the cards you're dealt.

FAQ

Can you lead hearts on the first trick?

No. Hearts cannot be led until the suit has been broken, meaning a heart has been discarded on a previous trick. The only exception is if your entire hand consists of hearts, in which case you have no choice. On the very first trick, you also cannot play the Queen of Spades or any hearts, even if you can't follow suit, unless your entire hand is penalty cards.

What happens if two players tie at the end of the game?

The standard rule is to continue playing additional hands until the tie is broken. Some groups declare co-winners, but the more common approach is to keep playing. Since the game ends when someone reaches 100 points, ties at the end are relatively rare, but they do happen.

Is the Queen of Spades always worth 13 points?

In standard Hearts, yes. The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points regardless of when it's played or who takes it. The only exception is if someone shoots the moon, in which case the normal scoring is reversed: the shooter scores 0 and everyone else scores 26 (which includes the 13 from the Queen of Spades).

What's the best strategy for the passing phase?

The most reliable passing strategy is to create a void in one suit, which lets you discard penalty cards when that suit is led. Short suits (one or two cards) are the best candidates for passing. Also consider passing the Queen of Spades if you don't have enough high spades to protect it, and passing high hearts if you're not planning to shoot the moon.

Can you play the Queen of Spades on the first trick?

No. Penalty cards (hearts and the Queen of Spades) cannot be played on the first trick, even if you have no clubs. The exception is if your entire hand consists of penalty cards, which is extremely rare.

See also