Hearts › Rules

Hearts rules

Hearts has plenty of house rules. These are the rules used on this site, for four players each playing for themselves. Where a common rule differs, we say so. Play hearts online as you read.

The goal

Take as few points as you can. The game ends when someone reaches 100 at the end of a hand, and the player with the lowest score wins.

1. The deal

Hearts uses a standard 52-card deck, aces high. Each player gets 13 cards.

2. Passing

Before play, everyone picks three cards and passes them face down. On the first hand you pass to the player on your left, on the second to your right, on the third across the table, and on the fourth nobody passes. Then it starts again. You choose your cards before you see the ones coming to you.

3. The first trick

The player holding the two of clubs leads it. Everyone must follow suit if they can. If you can’t, you may play any card except a heart or the queen of spades, unless your hand is nothing but hearts and the queen.

4. Playing tricks

The highest card of the suit led takes the trick; there is no trump, so a card of another suit can never win. The winner leads the next trick. You must always follow suit if you can.

5. Breaking hearts

You can’t lead a heart until hearts are broken: until someone has played a heart on a trick. The only exception is when you have nothing but hearts left. On this site the queen of spades doesn’t break hearts; some tables say it does.

6. Scoring

At the end of the hand, each player counts the point cards in the tricks they took: every heart is 1 and the queen of spades is 13, so there are 26 points in each hand. For example, a player who took these scores:

7. Shooting the moon

If one player takes all 13 hearts and the queen of spades, they have shot the moon. Instead of 26 points for them:

The shooter scores 0, and each other player scores 26.

Some people let the shooter subtract 26 from their own score instead. We always add 26 to everyone else.

8. Winning

Keep dealing until someone has 100 or more at the end of a hand. The lowest score wins. If the lowest scores are tied, play another hand until one player is lowest on their own.