How to play Hearts: card game rules & interactive tutorial
Hearts is a 4-player "trick-avoidance" game. The player with the fewest points wins. There are no teams. However, wise players will form temporary alliances as the game progresses, with the 3 high-point players cooperating to give points to the player with the lowest points during each hand.
The rules might seem a bit complicated at first but don't worry. We've got you covered! Below you'll find a complete set of rules for playing Hearts. Above, you'll find an interactive tutorial that will get you acquainted with the game in no time.
Once you're familiar with the rules, you can play Hearts online at World of Card Games with bots, other people online or with your friends. If you enjoy trick-taking games, give Euchre a try too.
Let the heart-stealing, point-avoiding mayhem begin!
Hearts at a glance
Four players, no partners, and the lowest score wins.
- Players: 4, everyone for themselves
- Deck: standard 52 cards, no Jokers
- Type: trick-taking (evasion)
- Objective: avoid point cards (each heart is 1 point and the Queen of Spades is 13)
- Winning: when someone reaches 100 points, the lowest score wins
- Average game: 24 minutes
- Strategy guides: Hearts strategy
Rank of cards
Cards are ranked from Ace (highest) to 2 (lowest).
Objective
The objective is to avoid taking cards worth points and to finish the game with the lowest score.
Heart cards are worth 1 point.
The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points!
Deal
Each player is dealt 13 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards.
Pass
Each player chooses 3 cards to pass to another player. Cards are passed to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second hand, and across on the third hand. No cards are passed on the fourth hand. This cycle then repeats itself until the end of the game. The only exception is that the no-passing hand is skipped when using "Tournament rules".
Play
The player with the 2 of Clubs starts things off by playing it. The other players then each play a card in clockwise order until all 4 players have played a card. Whoever played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card takes the cards. This is known as "winning a trick".
The trick winner starts the next trick. They can lead any card except hearts. This changes once hearts are broken, which is explained below. If you have nothing but hearts, you may lead one anyway. If you have nothing but hearts and the Queen of Spades, you must lead the Queen. At a table with "Tournament rules" you may lead a heart instead.
You must play a card with the same suit as the lead card. If you don't have one, you may play any card. There is one exception. On the first trick, you may not play hearts or the Queen of Spades. You can play a heart there in two cases: when every card in your hand is a point card, or when the table uses the "First-trick hearts" option and you have no clubs at all. The Queen stays forbidden either way. See the "Game-specific options" section below. The first time a heart card or the Queen of Spades is played is known as "breaking hearts". From this point on, players can lead hearts.
Shooting the moon/sun
Normally you try to avoid taking point cards because points are bad. However, if you do the opposite and manage to take every single point card (every heart card and the Queen of Spades) then you will have "shot the moon". When you "shoot the moon" all other players are punished with 26 points.
Even more difficult is "shooting the sun". This happens if you manage to take all 13 tricks, thus every single card. This will punish other players with 39 points! This is a very rare occurrence and is a sight to behold!
There is one safeguard. Your opponents only get those points if that leaves you with the lowest score, or tied for it. If not, your own score is reduced by 26 or 39 points instead. You gain the same 26 or 39 points on every opponent either way, but this way shooting the moon can never hand the game to an opponent.
TRAM
When you lead a trick and every card you hold is a sure winner, you will be presented with a TRAM button. This stands for "The rest are mine". Clicking it will give you all the remaining tricks.
This is just a way to make the game move along a bit quicker. For each card you hold, no other player may have a higher card of that suit, for example when you hold the A, K, Q and J of the same suit. TRAM is not offered on the first or the last trick. If you can only win every trick by playing your cards in the right order, for example the A and 5 of Spades against a lone King, the button does not show, so play the tricks out.
Game end
The game ends when any player reaches 100 points.
The player with the lowest score wins!
If two or more players tie for the lowest score, they share the win.
Game-specific options
- First-trick hearts
- Normally hearts cannot be played on the first trick. Turning on this option lets a player with no clubs play a heart on the first trick. The Queen of Spades stays forbidden.
- When you browse tables, a mark shows the Hearts tables that use it.
- Your own table's info also shows whether your table uses it.
The rules in practice
A trick is just four cards, one from each player. The highest card of the suit that was led takes them all. Say the trick runs 2 of Clubs, Ace of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, 5 of Clubs. The Ace wins it. Now suppose the last player had no clubs and threw the Ace of Diamonds instead. However high it is, it isn't a club, so it can never win a club trick. That's what makes going void in a suit so powerful, since it lets you dump dangerous cards with no risk of taking the trick.
The first trick has its own safety rule. If you can't follow suit on the opening club lead, you may throw any card except a point card, so no hearts and no Queen of Spades. A hand of nothing but point cards has to throw a heart there. After the first trick that protection is gone.
There is one trap worth knowing about. You can't lead hearts before they're broken, so if you hold nothing but hearts and the Queen of Spades when it's your turn to lead, you're forced to lead the Queen. You'll usually take her 13 points yourself. Skilled players spend the whole hand making sure they never end up there. Tables with tournament rules let you lead a heart instead.
Strategy basics
A few habits separate new players from experienced ones. When you want more, read our Hearts strategy guide and our guide on what to pass and why.
- Don't reflexively dump the Queen of Spades the moment you can. Aim her at the player with the lowest score.
- Pass high cards, but never all of them. Stripping your hand of Aces is how opponents shoot the moon on you.
- Use the first trick to unload your highest card. No points can fall on it.
- Keep count of spades. If you know who holds the Queen, you control the hand.
- Losing most games is normal. With 4 players there's only one winner, so play the long game.
History
This version of Hearts first appeared somewhere between 1850 and 1880. Its origins can be traced back even further to a family of games called Reversis, which was popular in Spain around 1750.
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the first trick in Hearts?
Whoever holds the 2 of Clubs. They must lead it and everyone else follows suit if they can.
Can the Queen of Spades be played on the first trick?
No. No point cards are allowed on the first trick, so neither hearts nor the Queen of Spades can be thrown there, even if you can't follow suit. A heart is allowed there only when your hand holds nothing but point cards, or at a table using the "First-trick hearts" option. The Queen stays forbidden either way.
Do I have to pass cards every hand?
Not every hand. The passing cycle is left, right, across, then one hand with no passing. After that it repeats. Tables using tournament rules skip the no-pass hand.
When does shooting the moon lower my own score instead?
When giving the other three players 26 points each would not leave you with the lowest score, or tied for it. Then your own score goes down by 26 (or 39 for shooting the sun) and theirs stay the same. You gain the same 26 points on everyone either way, so the order of the scores comes out the same. This way shooting the moon can never hand the game to an opponent.
What does the TRAM button mean?
"The rest are mine." It appears when you lead a trick and every card you hold is a sure winner, because no other player has a higher card in any of your suits. It isn't offered on the first or the last trick. Clicking it ends the hand immediately by giving them all to you.