How to Play Hearts

Also known as: Black Lady, Black Maria, Rickety Kate, Queen of Spades, Omnibus Hearts

Hearts is a classic trick-avoidance card game for 4 players, though it can be adapted for 3 or even 2 with some small tweaks.The goal is to score as few points as possible by avoiding the cards that carry penalties.

It’s a clever mix of strategy, memory, and bluffing. Once you learn the basics, it’s wildly addictive.

What You Need

• A standard 52-card deck (no jokers)
• 4 players (best), or adapt for 3 or 2
• A way to keep score (pen & paper, whiteboard, or an app)

The Basics

(detailed gameplay follows)

• The game is played over multiple hands (also called rounds).
• Each hand (round) is made up of 13 tricks (turns) in total (one for each card in your hand).
• In each trick (turn), players play one card. The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick.
• Some cards score penalty points, the player with the lowest total score at the end of the game wins.

A hand is a full round of play; a trick is a single turn. So, each hand includes 13 tricks.
Set Up

How Many Cards to Deal?

Hearts is best played with 4 players, but can be adapted using the changes above. This guide assumes a 4-player game.

1. Shuffle and deal 13 cards to each player.
2. Players look at their cards and prepare for the hand to begin.

Objective of the Game

At the end of each hand (round), players total their penalty points. The game ends when any player reaches 100 points or more. The player with the lowest score at that point wins.

You can set your own game-ending points, for example, 50 for a shorter game.

Try to avoid winning tricks (turns) that contain:

• Any Heart cards (1 penalty point each)
• The Queen of Spades (13 penalty points)

Gameplay: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Choose 3 Cards to Pass

Before the first trick (round) begins, each player selects 3 cards from their hand to pass to another player. Place these cards face down in front of you, or hold them separately from the rest of your cards.

The direction of passing changes each hand in a repeating cycle:

• Hand 1: Pass to the player on your left
• Hand 2: Pass to the player on your right
• Hand 3: Pass across the table
• Hand 4: No passing

Then the cycle repeats. Once all players have passed and received their new cards, play begins.

Step 2: Play the First Trick

• The player who holds the 2 of Clubs must lead the first trick. (Use the 3 of Clubs if playing with 2 players)
• Play moves clockwise.
• All players must follow suit if they can.
• If you can’t follow suit, you may play any other card – but not a Heart or the Queen of Spades on the first trick.

The highest card played that matches the suit of the led card (first card played) wins the trick. The winning player gathers the four cards and places them face down in a scoring pile in front of them.

They then lead the next trick. After each trick, players will have one fewer card , so in trick two, you’ll have 12 cards remaining.

Step 3: Continue Playing Tricks (2–13)

• The player who wins each trick leads the next (placing the first card).
• Hearts cannot be led until they’ve been broken (see below).
• All players must follow suit if they can.
• If you’re out of the lead suit, you may play any other card – including Hearts or the Queen of Spades.

Example trick:

• Alice leads with the 10 clubs
• Ben plays King of Clubs
• Charlie plays 3 of Clubs
• And Dana plays Queen of Clubs
• Ben wins the trick with the King of Clubs

So… what does this look like putting steps 1-3 together?

Round Structure Summary

1. Shuffle the full 52-card deck.
2. Deal 13 cards to each player (4 players total).
3. Choose 3 cards to pass, based on the round:
   • Round 1 – Pass to the left (also rounds 5, 9, 13, etc.)
   • Round 2 – Pass to the right (also rounds 6, 10, 14, etc.)
   • Round 3 – Pass across the table (also rounds 7, 11, 15, etc.)
   • Round 4 – No passing (also rounds 8, 12, 16, etc.)
4. The player with the 2 of Clubs leads the first trick.
5. Players play one card each (must follow suit if possible).
6. The player who plays the highest card in the first suit of the hand wins the trick.
7. Repeat until all 13 cards are played.
8. Tally scores based on collected penalty cards:
   • Each Heart = 1 point
   • Queen of Spades = 13 points
9. If any player reaches or exceeds 100 points, the game ends.
10. If not, return to Step 1 and play the next round.

Other rules

Breaking Hearts

Hearts cannot be led until someone has played a Heart due to being unable to follow suit in an earlier trick.

Hearts cannot be led until a Heart has been played because a player couldn’t follow suit in a previous trick.

Once this happens, Hearts are considered “broken” and can be led freely, but only for the rest of the current hand. This rule resets in the next hand.

Step 4: End of the Hand + Scoring

Once all 13 tricks have been played and everyone is out of cards (marking the end of a hand/round):

• Players check the tricks they’ve won and count penalty points
  • 1 point for each Heart
  • 13 points for the Queen of Spades
• Scores are recorded after the full hand.
• If a player has reached 100 points or more, the game ends. Otherwise, shuffle and deal a new hand.

Shooting the Moon (Optional High-Risk Strategy)

If a player wins all 13 Hearts and the Queen of Spades in one hand, they’ve “shot the moon.”

They then choose:

• Subtract 26 points from their own score

or

• Add 26 points to all other players’ scores

Tips & Strategy

• Pass high cards or “troublemakers” like the Queen of Spades or high Hearts
• Watch what suits other players are running out of, this gives you clues about when they might drop penalty cards
• Avoid winning early tricks,  opponents can dump points on you once they’re out of suit
• Only try to shoot the moon if you’re confident you can collect every penalty card, it’s all or nothing

Additional Notes

• Pass cycle: Left → Right → Across → No pass → repeat
• Hearts must be broken each hand before they can be led
• Scoring happens after all 13 tricks — never mid-hand
• Game only ends after a full hand is complete, when someone reaches 100+ points

Common Variations

• Black Lady – Common alternative name, especially in older rulebooks or in the US. Refers to the Queen of Spades.
• Black Maria – British variant name, essentially the same as Black Lady, where the Queen of Spades is the key penalty card.
• Rickety Kate – Australian variant of Hearts, same basic rules, different name for the Queen of Spades.
• Queen of Spades – Occasionally used as a standalone name in casual settings.
• Omnibus Hearts – A common variant of Hearts that includes the Jack of Diamonds as a bonus card (-10 points if captured).

A Little History

Hearts originated in the late 1800s, evolving from older European trick-avoidance games like Reversis. By the early 20th century, it had become a household favourite, and its popularity exploded when it was bundled with Microsoft Windows.

Fun Fact

The term “Shooting the Moon” originally referred to taking a huge risk for a dramatic payoff, and was used in older trick-taking games like Euchre and Boston. It’s now become synonymous with Hearts, where pulling it off can completely flip the game.