Game rules Hearts

Hearts Rules

The game has four players, divided in two teams, sitting on alternate positions

• Players - 4.

• 52 Cards.

• Distribuition - 13 cards for each of the 4 players.

• Objetive – It is to have the fewest points.

Definitions

• Trick – a hand won

• Hand - a sequence of 4 rounds, in which each player plays a card, and the winner (who discard the highest card) wins a trick.

• The highest card - the highest card of the suit. The order of the cards is as follows, from the lowest to the highest: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A.

• Follow the suit - play a card of the same suit from the first card of the hand.

• Black Lady - It is the card # 12 of spades. This card adds 13 points to the player who wins the trick.

• First card - the first card of a game is the 2 of clubs.

The game

13 cards are dealt to each player one by one, clockwise. After the distribution of cards, 13 hands are held. On the first hand, each player must choose 3 cards and passes them to the left player. On the 2nd hand, each player must choose 3 cards and passes them to the player on their right. On the 3rd hand, each player must choose 3 cards and passes them to the front player. On the 4th hand, cards are not passed. On the following hand, cards are passed to the left, on the next one to the right and so on until the end of the 13 hands. The player who starts the first hand is the player who has the 2 of clubs. The following players (clockwise) must follow the suit played by the first player. If a player does not have cards to follow the suit, must play any other card. On the first rhand, it is not allowed to play a card of hearts or the Black Lady. Cards of hearts can only be led after the first hand and only after a player who must led a card is not able to follow the suit. At end of the hand, the player who lays the highest card of the suit from the first card is the winner of this hand. The winner of the hand wins 1 trick for every card from the suit of hearts and 13 tricks for the Black Lady, if it has been led. The winning player of the hand starts the next hand. After 13 hands, players have no cards remaining on their hands, then the points are counted. If no player has reached 100 points, 13 cards are dealt to each player again. Thus, a new game begins. This process keeps going on until a player reaches 50 points. This player is on the last place. The other players' placement is defined by their scores: more points the player scores, the worst place he gets