The Passing Cycle

Round Direction You Pass To You Receive From
1 Left Player on your left Player on your right
2 Right Player on your right Player on your left
3 Across Player across from you Player across from you
4 Hold Nobody Nobody

What to Pass: Priority List

Always Pass (Unless You Have a Good Reason to Keep)

  1. Queen of Spades — unless you have 4+ spades with several below the Queen
  2. Ace of Spades — attracts the Queen
  3. King of Spades — attracts the Queen
  4. High hearts (A♥, K♥, Q♥) — they win heart tricks and collect points

Usually Pass

  1. High cards in your long suits — you’ll be forced to win tricks with them
  2. Cards that complete a void — pass your last 1-2 cards in a suit to create a void

Usually Keep

  1. Low cards (2-6) in all suits — safety cards
  2. Low spades (2-7) — let you play under the Queen
  3. Medium-length suits — not worth voiding; keep for following suit

Creating Voids

The pass is your primary tool for creating voids. Here’s how:

Identify Your Shortest Suit

Look at your hand and count cards per suit:

  • 0 cards: Already void (perfect)
  • 1-2 cards: Easy to void with the pass
  • 3 cards: Exactly what you can pass
  • 4+ cards: Too many to void — look for another suit

Best Suits to Void

Suit Void Value Why
Diamonds High Led frequently; gives many dump opportunities
Clubs High Led first (2♣); quick void activation
Spades Medium Useful to dump Queen, but risky if opponent leads spades at you
Hearts Low Can’t lead hearts until broken; less useful to void

Adjusting by Pass Direction

Passing Left

The player on your left acts immediately after the leader in most tricks:

  • They have the least information when playing
  • Passing them high cards is moderately disruptive
  • Void-creating passes are standard

Passing Right

The player on your right acts just before you in many tricks:

  • What they play affects what you must play
  • Passing them the Queen of Spades can be risky — they lead before you
  • Consider passing high non-point cards to them

Passing Across

Your across opponent is your primary “competitor” in terms of seating:

  • Standard passing strategy applies
  • Passing the Queen across is common — they’re far from you in trick order
  • Good direction for aggressive passes (bad cards for them)

Hold Rounds

No passing occurs:

  • You must play with what you were dealt
  • Adjust expectations — your hand may be worse than usual
  • Focus on defensive play and counting cards carefully

The Queen of Spades Decision

Pass the Queen When:

  • You have 3 or fewer spades total (can’t hide her)
  • Your spades are all high (no low spades to play under her)
  • You’re passing left (more common choice)

Keep the Queen When:

  • You have 4+ spades including 2-3 below the Queen
  • You have spade control — you can play low spades while others play their high ones
  • You plan to shoot the moon (rare but relevant)

Common Passing Mistakes

  1. Passing all your low cards — you need them for safety
  2. Not creating a void — voids are your most powerful tool
  3. Keeping the Ace of Spades — it catches the Queen
  4. Passing blindly — always evaluate your full hand before choosing
  5. Same strategy every hand — let your cards dictate the pass