How to play Hearts

One standard 52-card deck, four players (three to six can play with small changes), and paper to keep score.

Have the lowest score when someone reaches 100 points.

1. 1Deal all 52 cards one at a time, so everyone has 13.
2. 2Before play, each player chooses three cards to pass face down. In the common American cycle you pass to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second, across on the third, and keep your cards on the fourth, then repeat.
3. 3Pick up the cards passed to you only after you have passed your own.

1. 1Whoever holds the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick.
2. 2Players must follow suit if they can; if not, they may play any card. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and the winner leads next. There are no trumps.
3. 3Many tables add that nobody may throw a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick.
4. 4You may not lead hearts until a heart has been played on an earlier trick (“hearts are broken”), unless your hand holds nothing but hearts.

• After all 13 tricks, each player scores 1 point per heart they won and 13 for the queen of spades—26 points in all.
• If one player takes all 13 hearts and the queen, they have shot the moon: they score 0 and every other player takes 26 (or the shooter subtracts 26).
• Keep dealing until someone reaches or passes 100. The lowest score wins.

• Omnibus Hearts: the jack of diamonds is worth minus 10 for whoever wins it.
• Three players: remove the 2 of diamonds and deal 17 each. Five players: remove the 2 of diamonds and 2 of clubs and deal 10 each (the 3 of clubs then leads).
• Some groups always pass to the left, or play with no passing at all.

• Pass the queen of spades only if you lack spades to protect it—holding it with several low spades is often safer.
• Get rid of a whole suit early (“go void”) so you can dump hearts and the queen on other players.
• Watch for someone collecting every heart; take just one heart to stop a moon shot.