Hearts Terms A–Z

B

Black Maria — Nickname for the Queen of Spades (Q♠), worth 13 penalty points. Also the name of a British Hearts variant.

Bleeding — Deliberately playing hearts on tricks to force other players to take points.

Breaking Hearts — Playing the first heart of a round. Until hearts are broken, no player may lead a heart. Hearts are typically broken by discarding on a non-heart trick.

C

Control — Having high enough cards in a suit to choose when to win tricks and when to avoid them.

Counting — Tracking which cards have been played, especially point cards and the Queen of Spades.

D

Danger Hand — A hand with high cards that are likely to catch point cards. High spades (A, K without low spade support) or high hearts are danger cards.

Dump — To play an unwanted high card or point card on someone else’s trick, typically when you can’t follow suit.

F

Follow Suit — Play a card of the same suit as the card that was led. This is mandatory if you hold a card of that suit.

H

Hand — (1) The 13 cards dealt to a player. (2) One complete round of play.

Hearts — (1) The game itself. (2) The heart suit. (3) The 13 penalty cards worth 1 point each.

Hold Round — The fourth round in the passing rotation where no cards are passed.

L

Lead — Play the first card of a trick. The player who won the previous trick leads the next one.

Low Cards — Cards ranked 2-6, which are generally safe to play because they rarely win tricks.

M

Moon — Short for “shooting the moon.” Collecting all 26 penalty points in one round to score 0 while opponents get 26.

Moon Shot — An attempt to shoot the moon.

O

Out — Having no cards remaining in a particular suit (see Void).

P

Pass — The pre-round exchange where each player selects 3 cards to give to another player. Rotation: left, right, across, hold.

Pass Left — Give your 3 chosen cards to the player on your left.

Pass Right — Give your 3 chosen cards to the player on your right.

Pass Across — Give your 3 chosen cards to the player sitting opposite you.

Point Card — Any card that carries penalty points: the 13 hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 points).

Q

Queen of Spades — The Q♠, worth 13 penalty points. The most dangerous single card in the game.

R

Round — One complete deal with passing, 13 tricks, and scoring.

Run — An attempt to shoot the moon.

S

Safe Trick — A trick that contains no point cards, making it safe to win.

Shoot the Moon — Take all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades. Instead of gaining 26 points, you get 0 and each opponent gains 26.

Short Suit — Having very few cards (1-2) in a suit, making it easy to create a void.

Slough — To discard an unwanted card (especially a point card) when unable to follow suit.

T

Trick — A round of 4 cards, one from each player. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick.

V

Void — Having no cards of a particular suit. When that suit is led, you may play any card.

Voiding — The act of creating a void by passing away or playing your last card in a suit.