In the card game Hearts, after the deal and before the first card is played, everyone passes some of their cards to someone else on most hands. The cards are selected, placed face down and passed. Each player must pass their cards before looking at the cards that have been passed to them.
How Many Card Do You Pass in Hearts?
Each player passes 3 cards.
Where Are They Passed?
In a regular 4-player game, the cards are passed as follows:
- 1st hand: Pass to the left
- 2nd hand: Pass to the right
- 3rd hand: Pass across
- 4th hand: No passing
In a 3-player game, the cards are passed like this:
- 1st hand: Pass to the left
- 2nd hand: Pass to the right
- 3rd hand: No passing
These rotations continue for the rest of the game. How to pass for 5-7 players is at the end of the article.
What Cards Should You Pass in Hearts?
As the goal in Hearts is to not win tricks, it’s obvious that we don’t want to be holding lots of high cards. It’s clear, though, that effective passing isn’t just a matter of selecting our highest cards. Here are some important things to consider when deciding what to pass.
Passing Spades
As the Queen of Spades is the highest penalty card at 13 points, it makes sense that protecting ourselves from winning it is the top priority.
If you hold the A, K or Q of ♠s, you generally want to pass them. If you have enough low-card protection in spades (at least 3 and preferably 4 or more) you can consider keeping them, depending on what else you’re holding.
Passing Hearts
The next priority is hearts, which carry a combined 13 penalty points.
Again, the A, K and Q are great candidates to pass, as each one could net you 4 unwanted points or worse. Keeping low hearts is usually not a problem. You can lead them and someone else will likely win the trick.
Passing Clubs & Diamonds
Although these suits don’t have any penalty cards, they can still win us ♥ or the Q♠.
You’d still rather not be holding the A, K or Q of these suits. If you lack lower cards to ensure you won’t win unwanted tricks, it’s best to get rid of these if you can.
Remember that when you’re deciding what to pass from all 4 suits, a lack of low cards in a suit makes it more dangerous.
Shooting the Moon
During the pass, don’t forget about the possibility of Shooting the Moon—winning every penalty card—for yourself and your opponents.
If you’re holding very strong cards and think you have a good chance to take everything, don’t pass any really high ones. Of course, making a weak pass to an opponent will signal to them that you’re trying to win everything.
Be aware also of the possibility that the cards you pass could allow your opponent to Shoot the Moon. A common defense against this is not to pass your highest heart. Pass the second highest one instead. You could also pass a very low heart.
Passing Extras
- Don’t pass a spade lower than the Q, unless you’re intentionally trying to help that player.
- Focus on making your hand as strong and safe as possible before trying to stick an opponent with troublesome cards.
- You can also try to short yourself in a particular suit so you’ll be able to get rid of your problem cards quickly.
- If you want to lead, you can refrain from passing a high club.
For more on passing and other Hearts strategies, check out How to Win in Hearts.
Passing Instructions for 5-7 Players
In a 5-player game, pass like this:
- 1st hand: Pass to the left
- 2nd hand: Pass to the right
- 3rd hand: Pass 2 places to the left
- 4th hand: Pass 2 places to the right
- 5th hand: No passing
For a 6-player game:
- 1st hand: Pass to the left
- 2nd hand: Pass to the right
- 3rd hand: Pass 2 places to the left
- 4th hand: Pass 2 places to the right
- 5th hand: Pass across
- 6th hand: No passing
For a 7-player game:
- 1st hand: Pass to the left
- 2nd hand: Pass to the right
- 3rd hand: Pass 2 places to the left
- 4th hand: Pass 2 places to the right
- 5th hand: Pass 3 places to the left
- 6th hand: Pass 3 places to the right
- 7th hand: No passing