You may not play a point (a Heart or ♠Q) on the first trick of a hand (this can be altered by a rule option).There are two exceptions to play to be aware of: Any card may be led subject to the Exceptions to Play, below. The player who takes the trick leads the next hand. When all four players have played, the trick is taken by the player who played the highest card of the led suit.

Play continues clockwise with players following the led suit, if possible, or playing any other card if not (see Exceptions to Play, below).

The player holding the lowest club leads the first trick (this can be altered by a rule option). This pattern can be changed by a rule option.Īfter everyone has passed, the cards passed to you are displayed in your hand. Who you pass to rotates between (1) your left, (2) your right, (3) across, and (4) no-pass. Passįollowing the deal, each player chooses 3 cards from their hand to pass to another player. With 6 players, the deck omits the 2 of Diamonds, 2 and 3 of Clubs, and the 2 of Spades. With 5 players, the 2 of Diamonds and 2 of Clubs are omitted. When played with 3 players, the 2 of Diamonds is omitted from the deck, resulting in 51 cards. The entire deck is dealt giving each of the four players 13 cards. Hearts is played with a standard 52-card deck, 2 through Ace of each suit. A player may “shoot the moon” by taking all 26 points in a hand, giving other players 26 points instead (see Scoring, below).Ī game is over when one or more players get to 100 points.

Each hand consists of 26 points, one for each Heart and 13 for the Queen of Spades (♠Q). Hearts is an easy-to-play trick-taking game where players compete for the fewest points.

Rules to play hearts card game