| The Pass in Hearts
Last month's column featured several scenarios for the three card pass in Hearts. Here are the answers:
Scenario A - First deal of a game - pass to the left
Hand # 1
 K J 10
 A Q 3
 K 5 2
 A 8 4 3
Pass the Spade King, Heart Queen, and Diamond King. Obviously, the Spade King is very dangerous. The Heart Queen is insurance against a Moon. The Club spots are safe; thus the Diamond King can be released. Passing the Ace AND Queen of Hearts is very poor technique, as this could allow a moon by your left hand opponent. Dumping the entire Diamond suit is also a very bad decision, as the accompanying spot cards are quite safe.
Hand # 2
 A Q J 9
 K J
 A K 9 7
 K Q 7
What a mess! The Spade Queen has only three guards; luckily, you can stop two pushes. The Heart doubleton is very bad, and the minor (Club and Diamond suits) are loaded with high cards. Passing the A-Q of Spades is a waste of time, as you are a strong candidate to get blasted on any of the other three suits! Dumping Clubs is a reasonable plan; however, your hand is sure to eat a boatload of tricks - if you are fortunate to drop the Spade Queen on a Club (assuming that you are not passed more than one Club). There is also no assurance that the Spade suit will break evenly. The only hope is to set the hand up for a Moon, and that is a slim chance at best! Pass the two Hearts, and the Club seven. The odds that your left hand opponent will Shoot are greatly reduced, as you have controls in the other suits. If no Heart is passed to you, the Moon is a good possibility, especially if the Club Ace is played on trick # 1. The receipt of one Heart (pass from your right hand opponent) is a killer! However, you might be able to strip the hand of the minor suits, cash three Spades (the ops will lead Spades for you), and reduce the hand to an ending where you escape with the lone Heart, and hope that the person who takes this trick does not hold the last Spade. If, if, if... The hand is bad, and a prayer might help, but good play could save the day!
Hand # 3
 Q J 9 3
 7 4 2
 6 4 3
 A 4 3
This hand has similar distribution to the previous layout (one extra Heart and one less Diamond). The difference here is the array of LOW cards in the Heart, Diamond, and Club suits. There is no need to keep the Spade Queen here with only three backers. Pass the evil Lady, along with the Heart seven and Diamond six. Your side suits are safe, and if a high Spade (A or K) is passed to you, those three Spades should provide enough insurance (barring a strange distribution). There is a fair to good possibility that someone will Shoot here, as you have no control cards (stoppers) in any suit. This is typical of hands that are loaded in low cards without the Ace or guarded King of Hearts.
Scenario B - Sixth hand of a game. Pass to the right. You are in 2nd place (12 points in arrears of the low player, who is seated directly opposite from you).
Hand # 4
 A Q 3
 K 10 3
 A 10 5 4 2
 7 3
When holding the A-Q of Spades and passing to the right, the normal pass is the Queen (only), as the Ace is safe in this position. However, Hearts is a team game, and the idea is hit the low player! Pass the Spade Ace and the Queen, and the Heart ten. Your hand is absolutely safe, and you hold a stopper in both red suits. The extra Spade in your right hand opponent's hand may be useful if he needs a bit of help in this suit.
Hand # 5
 VOID
 A K Q 10 7
 9 7 6
 A K J 8 2
This hand has excellent Moon possibilities, especially if the Heart Jack is passed to you. Unloading the worthless Diamonds voids this suit, which might be helpful if a dangerous Spade is passed to you. The Club suit is a real dog, and the Hearts are a beast - thus, you must aim for the Moon! Pass the three Diamonds, and await developments.
Hand # 6
 Q 9 7 6 2
 A
 A J 4 2
 A 6 4
I do not recommend passing the lone Ace of Hearts, as this card is too valuable. The Spade Queen has four backers, and the Diamonds are safe. The best pass is the Diamond Jack, and the six and four of Clubs. You will have lots of escape cards, and can strip the hand accordingly depending on the pass to you. Oh yes, a middle or Heart in your hand (after the pass) will make the task more difficult.
Scenario C - It is the end game, with the an across pass. You are in 3rd place with 71 points, and 11 points out of 2nd place, and 21 points away from 1st place. Your opponent seated across from you has 81 points. This is a difficult position, indeed.
Hand # 7
 Q J
 A 5 3 2
 K Q 6 3
 A 5 4
It is useless to help your across opponent to Shoot, as the add-on Rule will land you in 4th place with 97 points, and a good bet to go out on the next hand. However, you can comfort him by passing both of your Spades. Be sure to toss in the five of Hearts - just in case! Your hand is reasonably safe, and hopefully, your across opponent will hold the Spade Queen for either of the other two opponents.
Hand # 8
 K Q 9 8 2
 Q 9 7
 A 10 8
 3 2
This a nice hand with good Spade protection for the Queen, and the control card in Diamonds. Normally, I would keep the Queen third of Hearts; however, this is a rotten Heart suit and a good bet to fetch eight points. My advice is to pass all three Hearts, and hope that my opponent does not hold the Ace-King. The long Spades may also grab a Heart for you on the fourth round (if you hold up the King).
Hand # 9
 J 8 2
 A 5 3
 A K Q J 7 4
 Q
At first glance, the strategy here is to unload the low (5 and 3) of Hearts, and the singleton Club. However, if a middle Heart is passed to you, that will be end of the Moon aspirations! Play it safe, and pass the five of Hearts, Queen of Clubs, and Queen or King of Diamonds. Another alternative is the pass of the A - 5 of Hearts and Club Queen; that is very risky at this stage of the game.
Brief Summary
Always be on the lookout for hands with these patterns or themes, and the score of the game. If you are winning, you can take more liberties. Don't give away a Moon because of greediness! Study the passing tendencies of your opponents. Voiding a suit is often a good idea, especially if you have control of the Spade Queen. Passing a middle or low Heart is reasonable insurance against the Moon; however, mixing up your passes will keep your opponents off balance. Hearts is a Team game, and working with the ops when you have a unfavorable score will often keep you in the game longer.
Next month, I will be reviewing Rules variations! | |
