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  Hearts Tips and Strategies

Hearts Column of the Month – May 2002

By Joe Andrews

The World Series of Hearts -- "Duck, Dump, & Drive"
The World Series of Hearts was held at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 9, 2002. Glenn Abney was the Director. Forty-eight players from all around the country participated. The entry fee was $440 per person, and the Prize Fund was approximately $20,000! Yours truly was one of the participants.

In a previous column, I reviewed Hearts variations. The modern rules descended from the original (circa 1750) game of "Reversis." The most significant changes came after 1940:

1.       The passing of three cards.

2.       The lead of the Deuce of Clubs.

3.       The option to drop the Spade Queen at any legal opportunity.

4.       Restricting the lead of Hearts until the suit was "broken."

These Rules, as well as the Partnership and Jack of Diamonds variations have helped to make Hearts the challenging game that it is…

The "World Series" had a most interesting format and set of rules:

1.       No passing of three cards (all "keeper" or "hold" hands).

2.       Mandatory Spade Queen drop (the holder of the Spade Queen had to play this card at first opportunity, instead of "saving" it for a certain player).

3.       The Spade Queen counted as 7 points (not 13).

4.       Shooting the Moon resulted in zero points for the Shooter, and 15 (yes, 15!) points added to the scores of the other three players.

5.       Hearts could be led at anytime, and you could "paint" the first trick, if void in the suit lead. (Deuce of Clubs lead did not apply.)

Each game had a 16-hand limit, and total points were logged for each player. Pairings were random for every round. I drew the same player for three of my first four rounds! Everyone played four rounds of 16 hands -- and the top 32 players with the lowest scores advanced to the playoffs. Once again, the pairings were drawn randomly, after the top eight low scores were seeded. Half of the field was then eliminated after each round, until a "Final Four" table was determined. In one playoff round, there were seven Moonshots and two renege penalties, and ALL four players were eliminated with high scores. At another table, one weak player scored 140 points, and the other three qualified for a quarter-final round!

A very curious hybrid form of the game was thus in effect. Luck was King, and Greediness was Queen! The strategy was to duck and dump, and avoid taking Heart tricks. Any holding of three or four middle Hearts was usually fatal. A lot of Moons were made with weak Heart doubletons, as the opponents were usually ducking. The opening leader almost always attacked Spades, and a lot of unprotected Queens were dropping from the sky! The Ace and King of Spades were also going concerns. Aiming for the low man was nonexistent, mostly due to the mandatory Queen drop. Reneges were a concern, and one had to be very vigilant.

I was absolutely smoked in the first game, and came in dead-last. Thank goodness, the qualifiers were four rounds! Then I adjusted my game, and averaged less than 60 points a round. This was enough to make the playoffs. Six Moons in three rounds, as well as some very lucky cards, got me to the Final Four, and I earned a nice check for Fourth Place.

Here is a really neat hand, which I observed in one of the playoff rounds.

The flat shape of the hand is typical of the no-passing variation. Remember, this was the "duck and dump" game! East, on lead, knew that he was in a lot of trouble. The Spade Queen was shorthanded, and any attempt to clear the Club or minor suit would result in lots of Spade pushes. The only hope was Hearts, and that was a bleak prospect. A Moon might have been possible, given the greedy tendencies of players. Some players commented that a better line of play was the Spade 10, and then a probable "absorption" of the Spade Queen. Perhaps Hearts could then be dumped on subsequent Spade leads.

After a few seconds of thought, East led the King of Hearts. South cautiously dropped the 10, and West and North contributed the 6 and 5 respectively. North could have taken the Ace, and a cheap 4 points of insurance. The 5 of Hearts lead would then guarantee no more Hearts points, and two additional exit cards. But then again, why take any points in this variation? The Jack of Hearts was then played, and South was glad to get rid of another problem Heart -- the 9. (Taking the Heart Queen would have been very costly here). Once again, West and North tossed their lowest cards. Next came the 8 of Hearts, and South smiled as he ducked with the 7. West dropped the Diamond King, and North, still asleep at the switch, ducked with his last low Heart. East, who had taken a boatload of points, now tried a sneaky 9 of Diamonds. South, who was quite aware of the situation, pounced like a snow leopard with the Ace, which drew the six and Jack. There was a moment of thought. South deduced that East did not hold the Heart Ace, as he would have cashed it, picking off the 7. Since West had shown out on the last trick, it was pretty obvious that North held the Big Kahuna. Thus, the Heart Queen was tabled, and the cat came out of the bag. The Ace of Hearts also drew a forced play of the Spade Queen, and 9 juicy points for a very "piggy" North player. Thus, we had a spear play of sorts -- in the Heart suit. This sort of maneuver would never occur in the standard game -- but was most interesting here…

I met some nice people, and I want to thank John and Lily Hanline, who were most helpful…

"Live" Hearts, Anyone?
If you are interested in hosting a "live" Hearts game sometime, please send an e-mail to me (heartsmoon@aol.com). Your event will be part of The Grand Prix Series.

See you next month!