Hearts
How to Play Hearts with 3 Players
Same game as four-hand Hearts, with the 2 of clubs in the box so the pack splits evenly. Seventeen cards each. Pass four. Lowest to 100. Follow-suit, breaking hearts, and the queen of spades are the four-player how-to.
What you need
- Three people. Nobody has a partner.
- A 52-card deck with the 2 of clubs pulled. 51 cards. No jokers.
- Paper with three running totals. First to 100 ends it. Lowest wins.
Deal 17, pass 4
Shuffle the 51. Deal clockwise until each player has 17. There is no kitty. Look at your hand, then pick four cards to pass before anyone sees what they receive.
Passing rotates each round:
- Pass left.
- Pass right.
- Hold. Nobody passes.
Night-one throws are the same as four-hand: a lonely high heart, the queen of spades if you cannot duck her, and a suit you want void. Keep low cards.
The 3 of clubs starts
The 2 of clubs is out, so the 3 of clubs leads the first trick. After that, the winner of a trick leads the next. Follow suit. No trump. Highest of the led suit wins.
Same two house calls as four-hand: no points on the first trick unless you have nothing else, and hearts stay locked until they are broken. Say both out loud.
Scoring does not change
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Each heart | 1 |
| Queen of spades | 13 |
| Whole round | 26 |
| Shoot the moon | You 0, each other player 26 |
Moon is still every heart plus the queen — 26 points. Miss one and you keep what you collected. Full four-player chart: Hearts scoring.