How to Play Hearts: Rules, Scoring, and Beginner Strategy

The goal of Hearts

Hearts is usually played by four people with a standard 52-card deck. Unlike most trick-taking games, you generally want to avoid winning certain cards. Every heart is worth 1 point and the queen of spades is worth 13 points. Low scores are good.

A hand contains 26 total penalty points. The game continues across multiple hands until at least one player reaches 100 points. At that point, the player with the lowest score wins.

Passing cards

Before most hands, each player chooses three cards to pass. The direction cycles left, right, across, and then hold, when nobody passes. Passing is your first chance to shape the hand.

The queen of spades, ace of spades, and king of spades deserve special attention because they can create a 13-point problem. High cards in a short suit can also be dangerous. Passing all cards from one suit can be useful because it lets you discard penalty cards when that suit is led later.

Playing a trick

The player holding the 2 of clubs leads the first trick and must play it. Going clockwise, every player plays one card. You must follow the led suit if you can. If you cannot, you may usually play a card from another suit.

The highest card in the led suit wins the trick, and that player leads next. Hearts cannot be led until they have been broken—meaning somebody previously discarded a heart—or until a player has only hearts remaining.

First-trick and scoring rules

In the Made Simple Games version, players cannot discard a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick when they have a non-penalty alternative. After all 13 tricks, each player adds the points from captured cards.

If one player captures all 26 penalty points, that player shoots the moon. Instead of taking 26 points, the shooter receives zero and every opponent receives 26.

Beginner strategy

• Get rid of dangerous high cards before the matching suit runs out around the table.
• Keep some low cards. They help you lose tricks safely after higher cards have been played.
• Count spades until the queen appears. Knowing whether the ace and king are still live changes how safely you can play the suit.
• Notice void suits. A player who cannot follow suit can unload hearts or the queen of spades.
• Do not chase a moon shot casually. It requires control of nearly every remaining trick and can fail for 25 points.

How to read the table

Watch more than your own cards. If a player discards on clubs, they are void in clubs for the rest of the hand. If the queen of spades has already been captured, high spades become much safer. If one player is collecting every point, the table may need to cooperate to stop a moon shot.

The central decision in Hearts is when to take control and when to give it away. Winning a clean, zero-point trick can be useful if it lets you lead a safe low card. Winning a trick late in the hand can be costly when only penalty cards remain.