Hearts Glossary

Last updated February 1, 2026

Card Game Terminology

A comprehensive glossary of terms used in Hearts and other trick-taking card games. Whether you are a beginner learning the basics or an experienced player brushing up on terminology, this reference has you covered.

A – B

Bleeding: Deliberately leading a suit to force out high cards from opponents' hands. “Bleeding spades” means leading spades to flush out the Queen of Spades.
Breaking Hearts: The first time a heart is played in a round, either as a discard or a lead. Until hearts are broken, they cannot be led.
Black Lady: A common nickname for the Queen of Spades, which carries 13 penalty points. Also the name of a popular Hearts variant.

C – D

Cover Card: A high card held to protect a dangerous card. For example, holding the Ace and King of Spades provides cover for the Queen of Spades.
Deal: The act of distributing cards to players at the start of a round. In Hearts, all 52 cards are dealt evenly (13 per player).
Discard: Playing a card from a suit different than the one led, which is only allowed when you have no cards of the led suit. Also called sloughing or throwing off.
Duck: Playing a card low enough to avoid winning a trick, especially one containing penalty cards.
Dump: To discard a high-value or dangerous card (like the Queen of Spades) on a trick led by another player when you are void in the led suit.

F – H

Follow Suit: Playing a card of the same suit that was led. Players must follow suit if they can; only when void in the led suit may they play another suit.
Hand: The set of cards held by a player. Also used to refer to a complete round of play from deal to scoring.
Hearts (suit): One of the four suits in a standard deck, represented by the heart symbol. In the game of Hearts, each heart card captured is worth 1 penalty point.
Hold Round: The fourth round in the passing cycle where no cards are exchanged. Players must play with the hand they are dealt.

L – M

Lead: The first card played in a trick. The player who leads determines which suit must be followed.
Moon Shot: See “Shooting the Moon.”

O – P

Off-suit: A card that does not match the suit that was led.
Pass: The pre-play phase where each player selects three cards to give to another player. The direction rotates: left, right, across, then hold.
Penalty Cards: Cards that carry points: all 13 hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 points). The total penalty per round is 26 points.
Point Cards: Another term for penalty cards. Cards that add to your score when captured in tricks.

Q – R

Queen of Spades: The most dangerous single card in Hearts, worth 13 penalty points. Also known as the Black Lady, the Black Maria, or simply “the Queen.”
Renege: Failing to follow suit when you hold a card of the led suit. This is an illegal play and typically results in a penalty.
Round: A complete cycle of 13 tricks, from the deal through scoring. A full game consists of multiple rounds.

S

Shooting the Moon: Capturing all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single round. The shooter scores 0 and each opponent receives 26 points. A high-risk, high-reward strategy.
Slough: To discard an unwanted card on a trick when you are void in the led suit. Also called “throwing off.”
Suit: One of the four categories of cards: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. Each suit contains 13 cards ranked from 2 (lowest) to Ace (highest).

T – V

Trick: A set of four cards, one from each player. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. Each round consists of 13 tricks.
Trump: A designated suit that outranks all other suits. Hearts does not have a trump suit, but the term appears in many other trick-taking games.
Void: Having no cards remaining in a particular suit. Being void in a suit allows you to discard any card when that suit is led, making voids strategically valuable.

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Hearts Quick Facts

Hearts is a trick-avoidance card game where each heart card is worth 1 penalty point and the Queen of Spades is worth 13 penalty points, for a total of 26 penalty points per round.

Shooting the Moon in Hearts means collecting all 26 penalty points (all 13 hearts plus the Queen of Spades) in a single round, which gives 26 penalty points to every other player instead.

Hearts is traditionally played by exactly 4 players using a standard 52-card deck, with each player receiving 13 cards.

The 2 of Clubs must be played to start the first trick in Hearts, and hearts cannot be led until a heart has been played on a previous trick, a rule known as "breaking hearts."

Hearts became widely popular as a computer game after Microsoft included it in Windows 3.1 in 1992, introducing millions of players to the trick-avoidance format.

In Hearts, players pass three cards to another player before each round begins. The passing direction rotates: left, right, across, then a round with no passing.

The player with the lowest total score at the end of a Hearts game wins. Games typically end when any player reaches or exceeds 100 penalty points.

A – B

Bleeding

Deliberately leading a suit to force out high cards from opponents' hands. “Bleeding spades” means leading spades to flush out the Queen of Spades.

Breaking Hearts

The first time a heart is played in a round, either as a discard or a lead. Until hearts are broken, they cannot be led.

Black Lady

A common nickname for the Queen of Spades, which carries 13 penalty points. Also the name of a popular Hearts variant.

C – D

Cover Card

A high card held to protect a dangerous card. For example, holding the Ace and King of Spades provides cover for the Queen of Spades.

Deal

The act of distributing cards to players at the start of a round. In Hearts, all 52 cards are dealt evenly (13 per player).

Discard

Playing a card from a suit different than the one led, which is only allowed when you have no cards of the led suit. Also called sloughing or throwing off.

Duck

Playing a card low enough to avoid winning a trick, especially one containing penalty cards.

Dump

To discard a high-value or dangerous card (like the Queen of Spades) on a trick led by another player when you are void in the led suit.

F – H

Follow Suit

Playing a card of the same suit that was led. Players must follow suit if they can; only when void in the led suit may they play another suit.

Hand

The set of cards held by a player. Also used to refer to a complete round of play from deal to scoring.

Hearts (suit)

One of the four suits in a standard deck, represented by the heart symbol. In the game of Hearts, each heart card captured is worth 1 penalty point.

Hold Round

The fourth round in the passing cycle where no cards are exchanged. Players must play with the hand they are dealt.

O – P

Off-suit

A card that does not match the suit that was led.

Pass

The pre-play phase where each player selects three cards to give to another player. The direction rotates: left, right, across, then hold.

Penalty Cards

Cards that carry points: all 13 hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 points). The total penalty per round is 26 points.

Point Cards

Another term for penalty cards. Cards that add to your score when captured in tricks.

Q – R

Queen of Spades

The most dangerous single card in Hearts, worth 13 penalty points. Also known as the Black Lady, the Black Maria, or simply “the Queen.”

Renege

Failing to follow suit when you hold a card of the led suit. This is an illegal play and typically results in a penalty.

Round

A complete cycle of 13 tricks, from the deal through scoring. A full game consists of multiple rounds.

Shooting the Moon

Capturing all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single round. The shooter scores 0 and each opponent receives 26 points. A high-risk, high-reward strategy.

Slough

To discard an unwanted card on a trick when you are void in the led suit. Also called “throwing off.”

Suit

One of the four categories of cards: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades. Each suit contains 13 cards ranked from 2 (lowest) to Ace (highest).

T – V

Trick

A set of four cards, one from each player. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. Each round consists of 13 tricks.

Trump

A designated suit that outranks all other suits. Hearts does not have a trump suit, but the term appears in many other trick-taking games.

Void

Having no cards remaining in a particular suit. Being void in a suit allows you to discard any card when that suit is led, making voids strategically valuable.