

You can get rid of the lead card by keeping lower cards that would “get under” an ace if played.

Passing your aces lessens your risk of taking a trick. If you already have several high clubs, however, you may consider passing this one. Otherwise, pass it on.Īce of clubs: If you want to take the first trick to control the lead, keep this ace. If you end up with this ace when the round begins, you have to figure out a way to get rid of it without picking up the high-penalty queen of spades.Īce of hearts: The ace of hearts is typically handy to have around, whether you want to take tricks to shoot the moon or prevent others from doing so.Īce of diamonds: Similar to the circumstances surrounding the ace of clubs, if you want to control the lead when diamonds get led, keep this ace. Consider these circumstances before passing your aces:Īce of spades: Always pass the ace of spades. Aces are the highest cards, so if you want to avoid taking tricks, passing certain aces before the round starts is a good idea. Pass certain aces to the leftīefore each hand, you get three cards to pass to another player.
HEARTS CARDS PLAY HOW TO
In this Hearts strategy guide, we cover how to play Hearts and 10 different Hearts strategies to improve your gameplay. With the right strategies in place, you can win the game by accumulating the least amount of points. Players must strategize which cards to play in each round to avoid taking the trick with penalty cards.īecause not every trick in Hearts contains penalty cards, using specific strategies while you play helps you avoid tricks that cause you to earn penalty points. The game of Hearts is generally meant for four players but can accommodate as few as three (the two of diamonds is removed, and each player gets 17 cards) or groups of five or six (the two of clubs is removed, and each player gets 10 cards). The only time you benefit from taking tricks with heart cards or the queen of spades is when you take every heart card and the queen of spades, also known as “shooting the moon.” When you shoot the moon and take all the penalty cards, you end up with zero penalty points, and all the other players each get 26 points added to their scores. The two of clubs starts the first trick of each new round, and while you can’t play any penalty cards during the first trick, you can rid yourself of penalty cards or high cards in subsequent tricks when you don’t have to follow suit.

In the game of Hearts, you simply follow suit, and the person who plays the highest card of the suit that led wins the trick. However, every heart card is worth one point, and the queen of spades is 13 points. Cards from the diamonds and clubs suits don’t result in penalty points. The game ends once a person reaches 100 penalty points, and the winner is the player who scored the least.
HEARTS CARDS PLAY SERIES
The game of Hearts is a trick-taking game, made up of a series of rounds, or tricks, where winning a trick may mean scoring penalty points.
