Hearts guide

Goal

Score as few points as possible - this is a game you win by losing tricks.

How a hand works

• Pass three cards to another player before play begins; the direction rotates left, right, across, then no pass at all.
• The player holding the two of clubs leads it. You must follow the suit led if you can.
• The highest card of the led suit wins the trick and leads the next.
• Hearts cannot be led until a heart has been discarded on an earlier trick.
• Neither a heart nor the Queen of Spades may be played on the first trick.

Scoring

• Each heart you take is one point, and the Queen of Spades is thirteen.
• Points are bad - the lowest total wins when the game ends.
• Take all twenty-six penalty points and you shoot the moon: depending on the lobby setting, every other player takes twenty-six instead, or twenty-six comes off your own score.
• The game ends when someone reaches the target score - 50, 100 or 150, set in the lobby.

Technique

Void yourself in a suit early so you can discard the Queen of Spades or a heart later. Holding the Ace or King of Spades without enough small spades to protect them is the classic way to be handed the Queen.