Play Hearts Card Game
Shoot the Moon with other players or against the computer in this popular card game! Shoot the Moon with other players or against the computer in this popular card game! Here are the rules to the card game of Hearts — a fun game to play on Valentine's Day, or any day! The Object of the Game. Players don't want to end up with tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades, but they do want to end up with the jack of diamonds. Strategy and perseverance are the keys to winning this fun and challenging Hearts game! Join 247 Hearts expert players to test yourself at the highest level of Hearts play, Expert Hearts. Expert Hearts is won by avoiding winning tricks in any heart and by saying adios to the Black Lady (Queen of Spades) if you encounter her.
In today’s world timing is everything. Time is the key factor controlling our everyday lives. Whether we like it or not, we have only 24 hours to finish all important activities and achieve our daily goals. This is why, even in our free time we are at least trying to stick to some kind of a plan. If you enjoy playing card games as a hobby or even just from time to time, you will probably enjoy playing the Hearts card game, too. It is easy and interactive without lasting too long so that it is a time-saver, as well.
Why to play the Hearts card game?
This can be the perfect entertainment for the moments when you want to get some rest from all of your daily responsibilities. One of the best things when you play the Hearts card game online is that you can do this everywhere! The responsive layout and design allows you to play Hearts card game on a variety of devices. Grab your phone, tablet or a laptop. If you’d prefer – sit on your desktop computer instead.
Whatever your choice is, it will not affect the quality of the game. So, be prepared for some fun! From time to time, make sure to check the time as playing the Hearts card game may be addicting! We highly appreciate your interest in the game but we still do not want you to miss any important appointment on your daily schedule!
How to play the Hearts card game?
It is pretty easy to learn how to play the Hearts Card game. We have developed a detailed guide which must provide an answer to all of the frequently asked questions concerning the rules of the game. If you do not have much time to read them all or remember them only partly, make sure to check out the shorter version of the rules.
Here is a quick overview of how to play the Hearts card game. Before you actually start to play the Hearts card game, there are two pre-steps – Dealing and Passing. Every player receives 13 cards from the standard deck and then passes the three worst cards from the hand to a selected opponent. Once the game starts, your goal must be to achieve the lowest score. Like in every other card game, there are some terms which you need to get to know before you start playing. For instance, when you play the Hearts card game “breaking hearts” does not mean literally affecting any of the other players’ feelings.
Are you in a mood for a competitive card game?
Hearts is not a team building type of game. Instead, each one of the four players is playing solo. This means that if you play Hearts card game, you will have three competitors who can be defeated by a well-developed strategy. We believe that practice is a main key in order to become a master in playing the Hearts card game.
What do you need to play the Hearts card game?
In order to start playing the Hearts card game you only need enthusiasm, three other players and a preferred device. Just like for every other online card game, this will be enough. However, the good mood is a must!
The perfect time to play the Hearts card game
There is not any imperfect time when it is inappropriate to play Hearts card game. This means that you can play the Hearts card game whenever you have some time to chill.
Some prefer to do that late in the evening after a busy day. Others choose to play the Hearts card game during the day while having a break from work or studying. Feel free to make your own choice, having in mind your agenda for the day. Just remember that every time is the perfect time to play the Hearts card game!
Are you in a rush?
Having said that there is no imperfect time for playing the Hearts card game, a frequently asked question arises. What if I am in a hurry and just do not have any free time? Well, arranging your day and having a plan is strongly necessary if you are living a busy life. Consequently, you will have at least a few minutes for a break during the day. If you like to play the Hearts card game, we are sure that you will see the fast-loading speed as a benefit.
Whatever the chosen device is, the game will automatically start after pressing the “Press to play” button. The lack of registration needed will shorten the process even more. You only need to register with a nickname and email address if you want to compete with other online players. If you decide to try, you have the chance to be among the world’s top 100 competing players.
Let’s play the Hearts card game!
Hearts is a user-friendly trick-taking game. This is what makes it interesting on a long-term basis. Keeping you active, making decisions and taking risks are the key which makes you want to play the Hearts card game over and over again. The game itself does not take a long time and the more you play, the better player you become.
Maybe you can start playing the Hearts card game without registering on the website. However, once you develop your own winning strategy, you will be ready to compete with the other online players. The stakes are higher when you have the chance to become number one out of top 100 players in the whole world! Just take your time and be patient!
In conclusion…
To sum it all up, if you have some time off and want to relax, play the Hearts card game! It will keep your brain active without making you feel tired or exhausted. It will lift you up once you start competing with the other three players. It will take your thoughts away from the current things that you need to do until the end of the day. Most of all, playing the Hearts card game will become one of your favorite card games if you enjoy developing strategies and winning against the opponents.
Hearts is a trick-taking card game that belongs to the “whist” family of card games. I learned to play hearts as a young boy, so my explanation of how to gamble for real money on the card game hearts comes from my own experience. (We played for pennies when I was really young, but we moved up to quarters when I was in high school and college.)
You might play hearts a different way. Some people do. I’m going to start by explaining how I was taught to play, then I’ll include details about common variations later in the post. I’ll also offer some strategy hints.
I should mention in these introductory remarks that hearts, while being a game of chance, is also a game of skill. Yes, it’s still gambling if you bet on it, but if your skills are better than your opponents’, you can be playing a game with a positive expectation.
Be careful of cheating and collusion, though. Hearts is usually played every-man-for-himself, but the most common way to cheat is for 2 players to team up and signal each other regarding what they have in their hands.
I don’t care how skilled you are at the game, it’s tough to have a positive expectation mathematically when your opponents are collaborating and cheating.
How to Play Hearts – The Basics
You use a standard 52-card deck to play hearts. Jokers aren’t usually used, although, in some variations with lots of players, the jokers are sometimes added to the deck. The cards are ranked from high to low as follows:
- Ace
- King
- Queen
- Jack
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
These are pretty standard hand rankings for card games, by the way. Spades uses the same rankings, although the object of the game is practically the opposite that of hearts.
Everyone gets to deal. You can choose who deals first any way you’d like, but after that, the position of dealer rotates around the table. It’s customary for the dealer to shuffle the cards and offer the player to his right the opportunity to cut the cards.
After the cards have been shuffled and cut, the dealer deals out the entire deck, one card at a time, to the players at the table. Each player should get the same number of cards. Hearts is most often played with 4 players, which means that most of the time, each player will have 13 cards. (52 divided by is 13.)
If you have an odd number of players, some cards will be left over. You place those face down in the middle of the table. The player who takes the 1st trick gets those cards, too, but no one gets to look at them until it’s time to take score.
After everyone gets their cards, they usually organize them in their hands by suit and by rank. Then it’s time for “the pass.” Everyone chooses 3 cards from their hand to pass to the player on their left. This means you’ll give 3 of your cards to the player on your left, but you’ll also get 3 cards from the player on your right.
It’s important that the cards be passed face-down. You’re not allowed to look at the cards you get through this process until after you’ve passed your 3 cards. Obviously, if you know what cards you’re getting via this process, you might make different decisions about which cards you give away.
Your goal, by the way, when passing these cards, is to get rid of cards that you think will hurt your score.
In a hearts game with 6 or 7 players, you’ll only pass 2 cards, instead of 3.
The Black Lady (Or “Black Maria) and Point Values of the Cards
The queen of spades is called “Black Maria” or “The Black Lady” in hearts. This card is worth 13 points.
The goal of hearts, by the way, is to be the player with the fewest points. This makes the Black Maria the worst card you could have.
All the hearts are also worth 1 point each.
Here’s a strategy tip:
You’ll sometimes see variations of hearts where your goal is to collect more points than your opponents, but that’s not really hearts in my book.
How to Play a Hand of Hearts
The player to the immediate left of the dealer goes 1st. He can lead with a card of any suit. You’ll see hearts referred to as “trumps” in this game, but they’re not really trump cards in the send that spades are trumps in the game of spades, for example. When taking a trick, a heart has no special significance. They only become important during scoring.
After player 1 plays the 1st card, the next player must play a card of the same suit if he can. This is called “following suit.” (If you’ve played spades, you’re already familiar with the concept of following suit.) Each player plays a card in order, and each player is supposed to follow suit.
If you don’t have any cards of the suit that was led, you can play any card in your hand.
The player who plays the highest card of the led suit wins the trick and collects those cards (to be scored later in the game.)
Here’s an example hand:
Player 1 plays the ace of diamonds. Every other player must play a diamond if they have one. Since the ace of diamonds is the highest ranked card of that suit, player 1 will automatically take this trick. If you don’t have any diamonds in your hand, you could play a heart or even Black Maria in this situation.
The player who wins the trick gets to lead the next trick, too.
In most games, there’s a rule that the queen of spades must be played at the 1st legal opportunity. This, of course, has a major effect on strategy, too.
Keeping Score in a Game of Hearts
After the last trick of the hand, each player calculates his score and records it. Most games of hearts are played until one of the players has 50 or 100 points.
The cards are scored as follows:
- Any heart = 1 point
- The queen of spades = 13 points
There are 26 total points in each hand. The sum of the players’ scores at the end of each hand should total 26.
At the end of the game, everyone’s scores are totaled and there’s a settlement. You take each player’s score and add them together, dividing that sum by the number of players to get an average score.
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You then calculate the difference between each player’s score and the average score. You then put chips into the pot or take them out based on the positive or negative value of your score compared to the average.
Here’s an example:
- Player 1 has 36 points.
- Player 2 has 31 points.
- Player 3 has 54 points.
- Player 4 has 35 points.
The average score, therefore, is 36 + 31 + 54 + 35 = 156, which is then divided by 4, for an average score of 39.
- Player 1 subtracts 39 from 36 to get -3. He gets to take 3 chips out of the pot.
- Player 2 subtracts 39 from 31 to get -8. He gets to take 8 chips out of the pot.
- Player 3 subtracts 39 from 54 to get 15. He must put 15 chips in the pot.
- Player 4 subtracts 39 from 35 to get -4. He gets to take 4 chips out of the pot.
If you’re gambling for real money on the card game hearts, each chip will have a dollar value. It’s customary to have a buy-in for the chips before starting to play. For most adult players, you’ll probably want to play for at least a dollar a chip, although $5 per chip is probably more interesting.
One alternative way of scoring in hearts is to score after each hand instead of at the end of the game. For every heart you took, you must put a chip in the pot. If you took the queen of spades, you must put 13 chips in the pot. At the end of the hand, the player with the lowest score gets to take all the chips from the pot.
Variations of Hearts and Different Rules Changes Available
Hearts, like most card games, is available in multiple versions. These versions usually involve a single big rules change, but often that single rules change has multiple implications. Here are some examples of different ways to play hearts for money:
The Queen of Spades Is No Big Deal
In some games of hearts, the queen of spades has no special significance. It counts as 0 points. Instead of 26 total points per hand, there are only 13 points. When playing this variation, no one passes cards to their left before the play of the hand.
This variation uses alternate scoring called “The Howell Method.” Instead of putting in one chip for each heart that you’re holding, you put in as many chips as there are other players for each heart that you’re holding. Then he subtracts the number of hearts he’s holding and removes that number of chips from the pot.
Let’s say you have 6 hearts, and you’re playing with 3 other players. You put 18 chips in the pot, but then you get to remove 6 of those chips.
Domino Hearts
One variation of hearts where the queen isn’t counted is “domino hearts.”
In domino hearts, each player gets 6 cards only. The rest of the cards go in the stock. The game is played as normal, but if you can’t follow suit, you must draw a card from the stock until you’re able to follow suit.
Once the stock is gone, if you’re unable to follow suit, you must discard a card of any suit. The game continues until all the cards have been taken as tricks.
One peculiarity of domino hearts is that players will have a different number of cards in his hand. This means that over time, players will start to drop out of the game because they have no cards left in their hand.
When you get down to 2 players, if one of the players runs out of cards, the player who’s left just adds the cards left in his hand to his tricks.
Sweepstakes
In “sweepstakes hearts,” each player puts in a single chip for each heart he took. The player who took the queen of spades also puts in 13 chips. If a player had no hearts and also didn’t have the queen of spades (i.e., he scored 0) he gets to take the entire pot. If no one had a score of 0, the chips stay in the pot, and another hand is dealt. The pot grows after each hand until someone gets 0 points and wins the pot.
You can grow some large pots this way, but you might want to lower the cost of the chips for this variation. Sweepstakes hearts is a fun variation, though.
Auction Hearts
Auction hearts is a variation of sweepstakes hearts that includes a bidding round at the start of the hand. Instead of hearts automatically being the penalty suit, the highest bidder gets to name the penalty suit.
The 1st bidder is always the player to the left of the dealer. He can bid or pass. The next player to the left can bid higher or pass, too. Whoever the high bidder is must put the amount he bid into the pot at the beginning of the game, but he also gets to decide which suit is the penalty suit.
In auction hearts, the highest bidder also gets to lead 1st. At the end of the hand, each player puts a number of chips into the pot equal to the number of cards he took of the penalty suit.
And since this is a sweepstakes hearts variation, a player with a score of 0 gets to take the chips in the pot. If no one was able to score 0 points, the money stays in the pot, and subsequent hands are played until someone can win the pot.
Also, there are no subsequent bidding rounds until someone wins the pot. The high bidder from the 1st hand gets to continue naming the penalty suit in each subsequent hand until someone wins the pot.
The Role of Strategy When Playing Hearts for Real Money
Strategy doesn’t change much in hearts regardless of whether there’s money on the line. Like most trick-taking games, the main aspect of strategy to memorize is keeping track of which cards have already been played. If you know what’s been played and when, you’ll have an idea of who has which cards and what you should do next.
Another important aspect of hearts strategy is making good decisions about which card to lead with. If you have a suit where you’re short, like if you have 3 cards of a single suit, you should get rid of your higher cards 1st. This will protect you later when you might have to follow suit with one of those high cards and accidentally get stuck taking a trick you don’t want.
Play Hearts Card Game Offline
Here’s an example:
You have the king of spades, the jack of spades, and the 4 of spades. You should get rid of the king and the jack early if you can, so that later you use the 4 of spades as a kind of “escape hatch.”
Understanding how the scoring variations in effect change things is another aspect of strategy. Sometimes it makes sense to take hearts if it prevents you from taking future tricks.
In sweepstakes hearts, you should go for a score of 0 as aggressively as possible. But if it becomes impossible to achieve that goal, your new goal becomes to ensure that every other player also scores at least 1 point. You want to grow the jackpot until you get a chance to win it, and the only way to do that is to ensure no one else wins it 1st.
Conclusion
Playing hearts for real money is somewhat out of vogue, but if you’re looking for an interesting way to gamble at home with your buddies, you should give it a try. It makes a nice change of pace from Texas holdem. If and when you start including variations like sweepstakes hearts, you can really build up some nice jackpots.
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And who doesn’t like winning jackpots?