The hearts card game has appeared to be an intriguing one to me for several years, but does that matter if you don’t know how to play the same? In fact, I had no clue how to play any game of cards ever before. But then one I thought, why not! And today, I can’t spend a single weekend without playing cards.
Today, I am going to talk about this popular game of cards. It might appear more interesting than you are assuming the same to be at the moment. So without wasting any further time, scroll down and find out how to play a game of hearts and hopefully win in 2022 – don’t worry, you can play online too!
Don’t Break My Heart: What’s The Hearts Card Game?
Before talking about how to play hearts card game, let’s find out some details about this intriguing game of cards! So scroll down and find out all that you need to know about the game of hearts before you sit down for a round with your friends this weekend.
Where Did It All Originate?
One of the oldest forms of the trick-taking card games, Hearts, probably originated with the classic Reversis, which had attended vast amounts of popularity in the 1750s. Another game of the same nature that emerged during this time was known as the “Four Jacks.” However, it wasn’t until the 1880s that the game of Hearts originated in the United States.
The 1887 edition of The Standard Hoyle mentioned how the game had existed for the past 5 years, and people guessed how it had a German origin. But, of course, the game’s format used to be a little different back then – there was no trump, for instance. Over the years, there have been so many new additions to the game.
There Are Variants? Like What?
Instead of rushing to your device and typing ‘hearts card game online free,’ let’s talk a little more about the game, in this case, its many variants. There are several variants of the Hearts card game. These variants are as follows,
- Auction Hearts,
- Black Jack,
- Black Lady,
- Black Maria,
- Cancellation Hearts,
- Chasse Coeur,
- Domino Hearts,
- Greek Hearts,
- Heartsette,
- Joker Hearts,
- Omnibus Hearts,
- Partnership Hearts, and
- Spot Hearts.
How To Play Hearts Card Game? Strategies!
There are several ways to go about this, but we decided to talk about two primary strategies, but unfortunately, the hearts card game app won’t teach you strategies. So scroll down and check these out now!
The two primary strategies of playing the hearts card game are as follows,
- Leading Hearts Early
It might appear that it’s smarter to your low hearts initially but instead of doing that, try holding on to these longer, until at least it’s kinda clear from the fall of cards whom you’ll give them to. These low hearts are quite handy, especially for passing the leads in the final tricks. There’s, however, one exception.
When your plain suit cards are dangerous or high, and hearts are relatively low, it is smarter to ditch all the hearts in the very beginning.
- Voids
A void is one strategy you can use when you have no cards of any certain suit. Now, this is technically a pretty advantageous situation since it prevents players from specifically winning points within that suit while providing a space for disposing of poor cards.
These can intentionally be created with effective strategies or even appear by themselves in some cases.
Hearts Card Game Rules: Early Vs. Modern Rules
Yes, the hearts card game rules have evolved over time. Check out the table mentioned below for the modern section, and you will understand the difference between the early version as well as the modern versions.
Early Rules: Since 1887
The earliest rules of the Hearts card game can be divided into 4 major categories as follows,
- Preliminaries,
- Playing,
- Scoring, and
- Variants.
Modern Rules: Since 2011
The modern rules of the Hearts card game can be divided into three major categories as follows,
- Preliminaries,
- Playing, and
- Scoring.
Check out the table below for details:
| Category | Rules |
| Preliminaries | Four players usually play with a standard pack of cards. All the players go on to draw cards for determining the 1st dealer and set the lowest deals – all of this happens in a clockwise direction. Then the dealer starts shuffling while the youngest hand cuts. The dealer moves on to finally dealing the cards, both face down and individually, starting with ‘the eldest hand.’ |
| Playing | The first trick is led by the eldest hand. Players usually follow suit but in case they don’t have the suit, they can play with any card. The highest card (of the leading suit) wins, and the winner leads the next one. |
| Scoring | Every time any player captures a heart, it counts as a penalty. The winner is the player with the least score. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
The passing methods in Hearts are as follows,
> 1st hand: to pass three cards to your opponent on left.
> 2nd hand: to pass three cards to your opponent on right.
> 3rd hand: to pass three cards to your opponent across.
The best cards that you can pass on your left in a game of Hearts are Aces since these are your best shot for winning tricks, and you would want the person on your left to win such tricks. Once the opponent on your left wins, the player will have to lead the trick which comes next, allowing you to play the trick last.
The whole purpose of this famous card game is to have the least number of points when one player within the game manages to reach 100 points. No player wants to end the game in possession of any tricks that contain the Queen of Spades or even hearts cards worthy of points.
If any player ends up without any hearts, he ends up winning the whole pool. Now, if there are two players who do not take any hearts, the pool gets divided between the two of them. But if the pool is not won, then it keeps getting added until won.
And It’s A Wrap On My Heart!
Now that you have a fair idea about this popular cards game, you can simply type ‘hearts card game download’ on search engines on your device. But if you have an iOS setup, then type ‘hearts card game io’ for the best results.
Have fun playing to your heart’s content, and don’t forget to let us know all about your card playing experience in the comments below.
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Barsha Bhattacharya is a senior content writing executive. As a marketing enthusiast and professional for the past 4 years, writing is new to Barsha. And she is loving every bit of it. Her niches are marketing, lifestyle, wellness, travel and entertainment. Apart from writing, Barsha loves to travel, binge-watch, research conspiracy theories, Instagram and overthink.
