Hearts Tips and Strategies

Hearts Column of the Month – September 2003

By Joe Andrews, author of The Complete Win At Hearts; copyright, 2001 by The U.S. Playing Card Company and Bonus Books, Inc.

A. Chicanery!
From time to time, my readers submit hands which have very specific themes. This "specimen" certainly illustrates the "light" side of the game of Hearts.

	North 8 5 A Q 5 8 5 4 J 10 7 5 2
West K 6 4 3 8 7 6 2 K 9 3 2 3		East 9 2 10 4 3 Q J 7 6 K 8 6 4
	South A Q J 10 7 K J 9 A 10 A Q 9

The scores in a 100-point game are South 80; West 88; North 96, and East 96. It is a "keeper," or hold, hand. In a passing situation; South could unload his entire Heart suit (and take a crack at a Moon). With controls in the other three suits, the threat of an enemy Moonshot is remote. (Any Heart passed to you will become an "escape" card after the other suits are "stripped.") I like the adventurous idea of passing the Spade Queen, Jack of Hearts, and 10 of Diamonds. This does have some risk; however, you do have the low score here. Unless the recipient of the Spade Queen has at least three guards, her Majesty will be drilled out. (A fourth-position lead to the Spade Ace is also a possibility.) There are other options, too.

We have discussed "hold" hands in a previous column. Let's deal with the current scenario. The South hand is a DOG! It has a very serious flaw -- no "exit" cards! If South is able to induce a Heart discard on his Spade suit, what is next? Surely the opponents will grab his first lead of Hearts, and bury South alive with a low Heart return. It will be quite obvious that he holds the Evil Lady, and is thrashing around for an escape! There is one remote chance -- a bit thin to be sure -- but better than no chance at all. North leads the Club Deuce, and East plays the eight-spot (correctly).

Look for South's best line of play at the end of the column.

B. Questions from the Readers -- "Hearts Insurance"
Questions from the Readers -- "Hearts Insurance"

It is heartwarming (no pun intended) to receive e-mail from fans of this column. I will try to feature as many of these questions as I can in future columns. Here is one from an enthusiastic player, "Daniel," from Australia!

"Hope everything's good and still enjoying some good Hearts games. My name is Daniel. I'm from Sydney and I'd like to consider myself an avid Hearts player. I just love the game! I've read your book and your columns, and they have helped me to tune the fine points of the game. The memory part is one of my worst points. But getting to the point, I've always been thinking of a way to make the game better, not just for the sake of making something different, but because some hands are shocking and you can't do much about them if your passer is experienced. I think I found what I wanted when I came up with 'Insurance Hearts.'

”I can quote you saying in your book '...we just had no defense...' or a lady asking for a penalty when you were made to eat the queen 'shorthanded.' Well, insurance might give that defense and/or penalty. Insurance consists of choosing a number between 0 and 6 -- that's your insurance against the Black Maria. That number is to be chosen after you've seen your cards but before you make your pass. If you eat the Queen (of Spades, obviously), your insurance will be the number taken away from those 13 black points. But if you don't, the insurance will be added on to your score. In 'real-life' games, the insurance should be written on a piece of paper (or whatever) and only shown to the other players at the end of the hand, for scoring purposes. Over the Net, there could be some slide from 0 to 6 that no one else sees.

”Oh yeah, and one more thing, if you were to shoot the Moon, the insurance must be placed on 0 or else the other players get your insurance taken away from their 26. It's important to point out that 6 must be the highest number of insurance, so no one is better off getting the Queen. I think it's pretty straightforward and I am yet to test it. (Lack of players around my area.) I would appreciate it if you could give me some feedback on this idea, whether it's interesting or just plain dumb, or maybe some refinements. I'll welcome any of them. Thanx a lot for your time, and good luck!

”Best wishes,

”Daniel C.”

This is a novel approach to be sure; but certainly worth exploring. I doubt that it would be part of Hearts on the Internet -- but it may be a nice variation to try in a live game. If anyone out there has a comment on this variation, please send an e-mail to me (heartsmoon@aol.com). Thanks!

C. "Live" Tournament Update
Check out the live Hearts scene on the Grand Prix Site. Players are needed for the Las Vegas (Oct. 17 and 18) Tournament, and The Grand Nationals in Cincinnati (Nov. 7 and 8). If you have never been to a live event, you will have a great time, and experience the thrill of dropping the Spade Queen in person. And, it's a chance to meet your online friends. Check out the link!

Grand Prix Card Tournaments03

Answer to "Chicanery" Hand (see above)

South's best line of play is to try the maneuver described in my most recent Hearts book. The play is called "Phony Smoke." Take the Ace of Clubs, and without hesitation, play the Jack of Spades. Very few West players will dare the play of the King, especially with three other low Spades. If the Jack goes through, you know that East does not hold the King. Continue with the ten-spot. If this also goes through, you are in good shape. Your Spade 7 comes next, and if West still plays low, you are in great shape. North and East will be discarding, and thus, his Majesty, the King of Spades, is now "dry." You have counted, and your lead of the Spade Queen will nail the King (this is called the "Spear play"). West takes 13 points, and loses unless he Shoots the Moon -- not a likely scenario. You can still take 13 Hearts and win the game -- because of your lead. Pat yourself on the back for a very well executed maneuver.

Get ready to groan if West does not hold the King of Spades. Better yet, take a "brb" if you are online, and grab your favorite beverage. Go back to the table, finish out the game, and concede graciously. Then mutter something about "hold" hands!

See you in October!