Hearts rules and score keeper
In Hearts you try not to win tricks, or at least not the ones with hearts in them, and never the Queen of spades. Each heart costs a point and the Queen costs 13, unless you take every one of them and shoot the moon. Here are the Hearts card game rules for three to six players, the deal and passing for each size, and a score keeper that checks your counts add up to 26.
Hearts in 30 seconds
- Best with four, each playing alone. One 52-card deck, 13 cards each. No trumps.
- Before each hand, pass three cards: left, then right, then across, then no pass, and repeat.
- Whoever has the 2 of clubs leads it. Follow suit if you can; if not, play anything.
- No leading hearts until one has been played on another suit, unless you have only hearts.
- Each heart you take is 1 point and the Queen of spades is 13. Take all 26 and everyone else gets 26 instead.
- The game ends when someone reaches 100. Lowest score wins.
Hearts score keeper
Scoring rules (Bicycle's unless you change them)
How to play Hearts
Deal and pass
Deal the whole deck one at a time to the left, 13 each with four players. Each player then picks three cards and places them face down for the player they pass to, and only then picks up the three cards passed to them. The direction changes every hand: left, right, across, then a "hold" hand with no passing. The keeper's status line tells you which it is.
Playing tricks
- Whoever holds the 2 of clubs (after the pass) leads it to the first trick.
- Going left, everyone plays one card, following the suit led if they can. With none of that suit, play anything, with one exception on the first trick (see below).
- The highest card of the suit led wins the trick. There are no trumps, so off-suit cards never win.
- The winner takes the four cards face down and leads the next trick.
- You may not lead a heart until hearts are "broken": a heart has been played on a trick of another suit. A player with nothing but hearts may lead one anyway.
The Queen of spades can be led at any time and does not have to be thrown at the first chance. Leading low spades to force it out is a standard play called smoking out the queen.
Scoring and the end
After 13 tricks, count your hearts (1 point each) and add 13 if you took the Queen of spades. Every hand gives out 26 points in total, which is how the keeper catches a miscount. Shoot the moon (take all 13 hearts and the Queen) and you score 0 while everyone else scores 26. When anyone has 100 or more at the end of a hand, the game ends and the lowest score wins.
Hearts for 3, 5 or 6 players
Hearts works best with four, but you can play with three to six by taking out low cards so the deck divides evenly.
| Players | Cards each | Take out | First lead | Pass cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 17 | 2 of diamonds | 2 of clubs | left, right, hold, repeat |
| 4 | 13 | Nothing | 2 of clubs | left, right, across, hold, repeat |
| 5 | 10 | 2 of diamonds, 2 of clubs | 3 of clubs | left, right, hold, repeat |
| 6 | 8 | 2 of clubs, 3 of clubs, 2 of diamonds, 2 of spades | 4 of clubs | left, right, hold, repeat |
Where the sources differ
- Points on the first trick. Bicycle forbids throwing a heart or the Queen of spades on the first trick. Pagat lists that as a variation; its main rules allow it.
- Shooting the moon. Bicycle adds 26 to everyone else. Pagat lets the shooter choose between that and taking 26 off their own score.
- Who leads first. The 2 of clubs leads in both. Pagat notes the original rule was that the player left of the dealer led any card, and some still play that way.
- The Queen breaks hearts. Some tables count the Queen of spades as breaking hearts (Pagat lists it). The keeper does not need to know: it only scores.
House rules in the keeper: the Jack of diamonds at minus 10 (called Omnibus Hearts), landing exactly on 100 to drop to 50, a shorter game to 50, and playing on after a tie. Pagat lists further versions, such as Black Maria with extra spade penalties, that this keeper does not score.
Tips for Hearts
- Pass the Queen of spades with care. If you hold it with few spades to protect it, pass it. If you hold it with four or five spades, keeping it is often safer.
- Make a suit void. Passing all your clubs or diamonds lets you throw hearts and the Queen on those tricks later.
- Keep low cards for the end. A 2 or 3 lets you duck a trick when someone leads late in the hand.
- Watch for a moon. If one player is taking every heart, take one heart yourself to stop them. One point is cheaper than 26.
Play Hearts online or at home
Play at home: one standard deck, three to six players, and the score keeper above.
Hearts questions
How do you score Hearts?
After each hand, every heart you took in your tricks costs 1 point and the Queen of spades costs 13, so 26 points go out every hand. Points are bad. When someone reaches 100 at the end of a hand, the player with the lowest score wins.
What is shooting the moon in Hearts?
Taking all 13 hearts and the Queen of spades in one hand. Instead of 26 points, the shooter scores 0 and every other player gets 26. Pagat gives the shooter a choice: take 26 off their own score instead. The keeper detects a moon and offers both ways, plus a setting that picks the better one.
Can you lead hearts on the first trick?
No. Hearts cannot be led until one has been played on another suit (hearts are "broken"), unless you hold nothing but hearts. Under Bicycle's rules you also cannot throw a heart or the Queen of spades on the first trick, even with no clubs.
Which way do you pass in Hearts?
With four players: three cards to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second, across on the third, and no pass on the fourth. Then it repeats. The keeper shows the direction for every hand.
How do you play Hearts with 3 players?
Take out the 2 of diamonds and deal 17 cards each. With five players, Pagat takes out the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs and deals 10 each, and the 3 of clubs leads. The table on this page lists the deal for 3 to 6 players.