How to play Hearts: Complete rules, setup, gameplay, and strategy tips for beginners.

Hearts is one of the most popular trick-taking card games in the world — a game where the goal is to avoid taking penalty cards. It’s been a staple of casual card play for over a century and was famously bundled with Microsoft Windows, introducing millions of people to the game.

What You Need

  • Players: 4
  • Deck: Standard 52 cards (no Jokers)
  • Goal: Have the lowest score when someone reaches 100 points

Setup

  1. Deal the entire deck — each player gets 13 cards
  2. Players look at their cards
  3. Pass 3 cards to another player (see passing rules below)
  4. Pick up the 3 cards passed to you

Passing Direction

Round Pass To
1 Left
2 Right
3 Across
4 No pass (keep all cards)

Then the cycle repeats: left, right, across, no pass…

What to pass: High cards you don’t want to be forced to win tricks with. The Queen of Spades, Ace of Spades, and King of Spades are common passes. High hearts are also dangerous.

Playing Tricks

First Trick

  • The player holding the 2 of Clubs leads it
  • All other players play one card, following suit if possible
  • No penalty cards can be played on the first trick (no hearts, no Queen of Spades)
  • The highest Club wins the trick

Subsequent Tricks

  1. The trick winner leads the next trick
  2. Each player plays one card clockwise
  3. You must follow suit if you can
  4. If you can’t follow suit, you may play any card — including penalty cards
  5. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick (there is no trump in Hearts)
  6. The trick winner collects the cards and leads next

Hearts Must Be Broken

You cannot lead with a heart until hearts have been “broken” — meaning someone has discarded a heart on a trick led by another suit.

Exception: If your hand contains only hearts, you may lead one.

Card Ranking

Cards rank high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (no trump — the led suit always “wins” among its own rank)

Scoring

After all 13 tricks are played, count penalty cards in each player’s tricks:

Card Penalty Points
Each Heart (♥) 1 point
Queen of Spades (Q♠) 13 points
All other cards 0

Maximum penalty per round: 26 points (13 hearts + Queen of Spades)

Shooting the Moon

If one player takes all 26 penalty points in a single round (all 13 hearts + the Q♠):

  • That player gets 0 points
  • Every other player gets +26 points

This is called “shooting the moon.” It’s a devastating play when successful, but if you miss even one heart, you’re stuck with a terrible score.

Game End

The game continues round after round until any player reaches 100 points. At that point, the player with the lowest score wins.

Example Round

Trick 1: Player A leads 2♣. Players play 5♣, K♣, 8♣. Player B (K♣) wins. Trick 2: Player B leads A♦. Players play 3♦, 7♦, J♦. Player B (A♦) wins. Trick 3: Player B leads K♥ (hearts now broken). Players play 4♥, 9♠, 2♥. Player B (K♥) wins and takes 3 hearts (3 points).

(Continue for all 13 tricks…)

Strategy Basics

Avoid the Queen of Spades

The Q♠ is worth 13 points — more than all other penalty sources in most rounds. Key tactics:

  • Pass it during the passing phase if you have it
  • Void yourself in Spades early so you can discard the Q♠ on someone else’s Spade trick
  • “Smoke out” the Queen by leading low Spades to force it out

Manage Your High Cards

High cards (Aces, Kings) win tricks — and tricks with penalty cards hurt. If you’re holding high hearts or unprotected high cards in any suit:

  • Pass them during the passing phase
  • Play them early on “safe” tricks (tricks unlikely to contain penalty cards)
  • Void a suit so you can dump them on someone else’s lead

When to Shoot the Moon

Consider shooting the moon when:

  • You have multiple high hearts (A♥, K♥, Q♥)
  • You have the Q♠ and the A♠/K♠ to protect it
  • You have a long suit you can run (forcing others to discard hearts to you)
  • You have very few low cards (you’ll win most tricks anyway)

If you’re going to shoot, commit fully. Other players will try to take just one heart to stop you.

Low Cards Are Gold

Low cards let you follow suit without winning tricks. The 2, 3, 4 of each suit are the safest cards in Hearts. Don’t pass them away unless you have a specific reason.

Play Hearts Online

Hearts is available to play free in your browser on Rare Pike. No downloads, no accounts — bots fill seats so you can start instantly.