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  Hearts Tips and Strategies

Hearts Column of the Month – January 2002

By Joe Andrews

Happy New Year!

Passing and the Moon
A few columns ago, I reviewed (in general) the Passing aspect of the game. Now, the time has come to discuss a specific situation. In Hearts, the score dictates the proper technique. If you are comfortably winning a game, your objective is to knock the high person out of the game. If you are in second or third place, your thoughts turn to forming a "collusive" partnership with one or more of your tablemates, and gunning for the low player. (Once in a while, you must content yourself with salvaging a second-place finish). Finally, if you bring up the rear, your only hope is for survival, and you must minimize points.

I wish I had a dime for every time I have heard someone say, "You passed him a Moon," or "You didn't pass any Hearts?" There are those instances when you just cannot pass a Heart. If you always pass a Heart regardless of your holding or position (score and place), you are playing much too conservatively.

The idea is to pass a Heart when it is safe. In this way, your opponents will never know what to expect, and they will be off-balance. (One out of every four hands is a "keeper" or hold hand, and the pass is irrelevant.) Let's examine a few hands. The game is only four deals along, and the scores are close. The pass is to the left. You hold each of these hands:

Hand #1

Hand #2

Hand #3

 J 8 5 4
 Q 10 9
 A Q 3
 A 7 5 4

 8
 J 8 5 2
 Q J 8
 A Q J 6 4

 7 6 3 2
 A 2
 A 4 3
 Q 9 8 6

In Hand # 1, the "standard" pass is the 10 of Hearts, and two high Diamonds. Because the Hearts are so bad, I would pass the 10 and the 9, and the Queen of Diamonds (keeping the Diamond Ace allows for first-round control). I would not object to dumping the entire Heart suit; however, that still leaves two bad Diamonds in my hand.

In Hand #2, the "dry" Spade sounds an alarm. In order to protect against a high Spade pass, it is necessary to void a minor suit if possible. Because you have five Clubs and three Diamonds, dumping the Diamond suit is preferred, especially with this holding. If the Diamonds were really low, then I would pass three middle Clubs, leaving the Ace and the 4. Note that the Heart suit is a natural stopper, namely, the Jack and three low-spot cards. The standard pass of a low Heart from this holding is, thus, a wasted move.

Hand # 3 is brutal! One of the most anguishing decisions is whether to pass the singleton 2 of Hearts or the singleton Ace. Another option is to pass both of these cards! Here, your Spades are safe, and the Diamonds are adequate. The Clubs are very disquieting, and demand attention. The best pass here is the top three Clubs. You still have the red suits stopped, and if the "shooter" is long in the black suits -- such is life!

Now let's look at a late-game situation and some play analysis. You are passing to the across opponent. Your right-hand opponent is leading by 10 points. You are in second place. The left-hand opponent has 80 points. You hold these cards after each deal:

Hand #4

Hand #5

Hand #6

 A K Q 4 2
 K 10
 Void
 A K J 10 8 7

 10 5 3 2
 K 9 2
 K Q 3
 A 5 3 2

 Q J 10 7
 Q
 A Q 9 8
 K Q J 9

Hand # 4 is a typical pattern layout. Pass the two high Hearts, and the 7 of Clubs. You expect to be passed a Heart, and possibly some Diamonds -- a true worst-case scenario. If the King of Clubs appears on trick #1, you win this and strip any Diamonds that you may have received. The idea is to remove the Clubs and any stray Diamonds. Ducking one round of Spades is a good safety play. Now, you will run the Clubs, and hopefully get a Heart discard. Cash a top Spade, be sure you have stripped the minor suits, and exit with the Heart. The hand becomes a beast if you have more than one Heart passed to you, or if the Spade suit is breaking badly.

In Hand # 5, the standard pass is the correct move. Let go of the Heart 9 and the King-Queen of Diamonds. Your Clubs are safe, the Spades are long, and the Heart suit is stopped.

Hand # 6 (similar to hand # 4) is a familiar motif. Your lone Heart is flanked by three very bad suits. To begin with, you must keep the Spade Queen. If you pass her along, you will be blasted in either minor suit. Ditch the Queen of Hearts and the bottom two Diamonds. You are setting up for a Moon of your own. If passed a middle Heart, you should plan to strip the minors and hope for a break in the Spade suit. Maybe the Ace or King of Spades will come your way. This hand is loaded with weak spots, and presents some intriguing problems.

In summary, the pass is a critical part of the game; however, woodenly passing a Heart every time is not always the best technique.

Basic Rules Survey
I am surveying the preferences of Zone.com players relative to the structure of the game of Hearts. This is especially applicable to the "live" tournies. Hearts is a game replete with variations. Results are posted in the Hearts February 2002 column.

1.       Do you prefer to have "hold" or "keeper hands" as part of the game? (Every fourth deal, you do not have a passing option, and must play the cards as dealt.) Note: A "No" response indicates a preference for a three-pass rotation -- Left, Right, Across, followed by repeat of the same rotation until the game ends.

2.       Do you prefer the current rule that requires the (26) points to be added to the scores of the other three players when the fourth player "Shoots the Moon"? (A "No" response indicates a desire to have a subtraction option for a Moon -- especially if anyone at the table has a score of 74 or more points.)

3.       Do you prefer the rule which states, "The Queen of Spades does NOT break Hearts; thus if you hold the Spade Queen and all Hearts, and Hearts have not been "broken," you must lead the Spade Queen"? A "No" response indicates that you prefer to have the Spade Queen treated as a "point" card and able to "break" hearts.

4.       Would you like to have a room that would feature games with a 50-point limit or games with a 125-point limit? (A "No" response indicates a preference for the current 100-point game.)

5.       Would you prefer the "opening lead" rule of having the person to the left of the dealer leading any card (except for Heart) on trick # 1 --rather than the standard "Deuce of Clubs"? (This is the original way the game was played.) A "No" response indicates preference to leave the current "Deuce of Clubs" lead as is.