| Beginner's Korner
This month, we go 'back to basics.' In order to become an accomplished player, you must master the strategies and techniques of the game. Here are the five most common errors made by novice players.
1. Failure to pass a low or middle heart.
Note: This applies to hands that have a specific directional pass. Every fourth deal is a 'hold' or a keeper hand.
I wish I had a dime for every time a player failed to pass a heart. There are more successful 'Moons' made by players who pass two or three losing hearts than are passed NO hearts. You may rest assured that once a player knows that you will rarely, if ever, pass hearts -- they will wait for the next time you pass to them. Then, it's off to the races, as that player sets up a hand for a Moon! You have a pass of three cards. Surely, you can spare one measly heart. If anything, you know that player who you are sending the heart to will not try for the Moon, unless they have all of the top hearts, a high spade, and control of at least one of the side suits – a pretty tall order! A bit of advice: never pass the Ace of hearts, and never pass a singleton deuce of hearts. These cards are just too valuable to release. Most experts will tell the newbies pass your second highest heart. Now, there's some good advice.
2. Failure to play high cards early.
A lot of beginners seem to employ a 'duck and dump' approach. They take the lead early with a high club, and then exit with a spade (if not in possession of the spade Queen), or a middle/low card in another suit. Now their strategy is to duck everything in sight -- bad strategy! Suppose that you hold a diamond suit which looks like this: A K 4 2. You must take the first lead of diamonds and start leading spades or start looking for a safe 'out' in another suit. Hopefully, you will get a diamond lead from your left-hand opponent. In the heart suit, the 'ducking' approach may land you in a lot of trouble, especially if the spade Queen is still outstanding. Take your high trick(s) early, and look for a safe alternative.
3. Failure to 'read' or analyze the opponents' plays.
After the pass is completed, observe the next play (trick # 2 of the hand) by the person who wins the first trick. If they lead spades, you may conclude that one of the other two players holds the spade Queen (unless, you, of course have the 'lady' in your hand). On the other side of the coin, the player who avoids spade leads usually holds the 'lady' in their hand, or has a spade problem (a weak Ace or King of spades). Be very leery of a player who drops low cards early in the hand, and then shows up with higher cards in the same suits, as the hand progresses. (This is the dead giveaway to a Moon attempt.) Finally, keep a close eye on the player who grabs a bunch of early tricks, gets a heart discard, and then tries to 'sneak' a middle heart through. If you passed that heart, you better take it quickly, or face the possible wrath of the opponents who might be victimized by a Moon. Of course, the score and your position (1st-4th) has a bearing on your decision.
4. Failure to count cards, or remember specific cards that have been played.
This is a constantly recurring motif. If you hold the spade Queen after the pass, you must do everything you can to prepare your hand for the unloading of the 'lady' I have seen more players get trapped at the end of a hand, because they failed to strip side suits, or just did not count. There are those who also lose track of suits only to lead the #13 card of that suit, and get blasted with the spade Queen!
You must have a plan for each hand (e.g., 'drive the Queen'; take the first heart; go for the Moon; safely discard dangerous cards; etc.) After the pass is completed, take a few seconds and chart a course. Don't fly by the seat of your pants, or you will crash land more often than not.
5. Failure to play by position, and 'aim' for the low player.
(in a one-player 'advances' tournament or a single round rated game)
I have seen players in third or fourth place toward the end of a game, hammering the spade Queen on each other, or allowing unobtainable Moons to succeed. As I said previously, you must keep track of the score. Why blast the last place player from the game, only to finish in the third or second slot? Remember, Hearts is a game of collusion, and often, you must cooperate with an opponent (or two), in order to prolong the game. The good players have no problem in applying the 'team' approach. Their games often end with all four players with scores in the 80s or 90s. 'Runaway' games in which one player has a 70 point lead on their three fellow players are dreadfully boring!
In summary, Hearts can be fun if you make the effort to count cards, play good defense, make sensible passes, avoid being a 'hog' or 'ducker,' and work cooperatively with your tablemates.
Super Holiday Quiz!
The game of Hearts has its own terms and glossary. Can you identify (ascertain the meaning) of these thirteen terms? | |
| Hearts Rating System - Commentary
(applies to Rated Rooms)
The Ratings system devised by Zone.com for the game of Hearts is quite sound, and well-intentioned. Most players are honest, courteous, and willing to play hard and have fun. However, the Ratings system assumes that players will finish all games, make every effort to avoid 'incompletes' and forfeits, and play a clean game. During the past few years, some interesting 'formats' have appeared. Because Hearts is a cutthroat game designed for solo players, it exists in a different world than that of the partnership games such as Spades, or Euchre. Do you recognize any of these variations? (Some have slightly different abbreviations)
1. QFI: A short game in which the participants agree to play one hand, only. Whoever takes the spade Queen in the first hand of this game, intentionally 'forfeits,' thus ending the game. The player with the lowest score is thus, duly credited with a win. (Wow - what a victory!)
2. 3H: A game which consists of three hands. The player with the high score after the third hand intentionally forfeits, and the low scorer is the winner. The second place player also earns some rating points. This is a slight improvement on the first example.
3. 4H: A four hand game with the same structure as the second paragraph described above. (A slight improvement on the three hand game)
4. FML: First 'Moon' loses. This one is very fiendish. Two or three players who know each other advertise for a game in which the first person to shoot the Moon is required to forfeit. Then they gang up against one unsuspecting victim, and ‘force-feed' him/her a 'Moon.' Finally, the stunned victim is coerced into forfeiting. (Very interesting, indeed!)
The only argument I have to support any of these formats is that a 'game' can be played in a relatively short time, especially when one does not want to spend 60-90 minutes for a typical standard game; however, is one hand a bit too short? LOL
The above are the shorty formats. Then we have all varieties of collusions. Players come in as 'partners,' and agree to protect each other and gang up on another player. The idea is to assure each other of a first or second place. The scheme is then repeated several times in the course of an evening, thus boosting the ratings of each 'partner.'
Some players have lots of 'nics' (nicknames), and use them interchangeably. Others use two computers. Card counting programs abound. And there are those lose intentionally (called 'tanking'), when their friend has a winning (low) score at the game.
Is this Hearts? If you have any comments, please send your e-mails to Heartsmoon@aol.com? | |
