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Hearts Tutorial
This hearts tutorial is directed at new hearts players. The purpose of this tutorial is to help a beginning player get started. There is a wide range of experience levels for players at Hardwood Hearts, since all players here tend to play in one room, a new player is almost certain to be exposed to a veteran player in almost any game they play here. This isn't a bad thing, you learn more as a new player if you play experienced players. But games here are usually highly competitive, because players are trying to better their ratings to become the number one player at the site. There are some social games played here, where your game isn't rated, but these games are rare.
So new players are cautioned that you will face this competitive spirit more often than not. Some competitive players are less forgiving of players mistakes than those in social games. I advise you to learn from your mistakes and take the criticism as being constructive, you will be surprised at the pace you will learn the game if your mistakes are pointed out to you by an experienced player. Sometimes this is done in an untactful manner, so grin and bear it. Some new players bail out at the first sign of such behavior from the experienced players. The really abusive players are punished and may be banned for infractions of rules and conduct.
I'm not talking about the criticism you might receive for mistakes you make in a game, unless it goes beyond something of a civil retort. So before you report someone, consider the light in which the infraction occurs.
A new player should play a few games {unrated} in order to become familiar with the site. I hope the following information will help you and prevent some of the mistakes that new players usually make. I can't possibility tell you everything you need to know to become an expert heart player. You can only achieve that status by playing. "Practice Makes Perfect"?
Hearts is quite a simple game, but very popular because of the strategies involved. Why shoud you read this? Because you want to win, of course!
Don't get discouraged as you learn the game, it's fun to play hearts, but it does take a while to learn. Remember the objective of a game is to take all the points or don't take any for each hand played. Strategies for accomplishing this are many and must be learned in real games.
I would recommend that all new players become familiar with the options before you enter a game. If you enter a game, you have accepted their options, so don't yell at the host once the game starts if you don't like the options.
OVERVIEW
Hearts is a 4-player, trick taking card game. The object is to finish the game with the least amount of points. The game is over when someone reaches or exceeds the limit. It is always played with a 52 card set. Each player {4 people playing} gets 13 cards in a round to start with. A round is over after 13 tricks. A trick always has 4 cards played. Points are given to tricks you took :
*All hearts are 1 point each.
*Queen of spades is 13 points.
So the amount of points divided in a hand is 26. The player with the 2 of clubs starts the round. You always have to follow the suit, unless you don't have any cards left of it. If you don't have any of that suit, you can play any card you wish. A trick is won if you played the highest card of the suit the first player came out with. So you will mostly want to play lower cards than the rest so you dont get the trick. The player who last got the trick, leads the following one.
At the end of the round everyone counts how many points they have taken. If a player got all points {26} then he "shot the moon". The 26 points isn't added to his score, but to everyone else's. It's an easy game to learn, but a hard one to master.
LAYOUT
Each player is dealt a hand of 13 cards from a 52 card deck. The hand is sorted by suit, then rank: Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, Hearts. Cards that are out of play are darkened, notice that as you move over available cards with your mouse those cards are highlighted.
PASS
After the cards are dealt, each player evaluates their hand for 3 cards they wish to discard. This is a very important moment. You'll want to get rid of your bad cards, especially queens, kings and ace's because with these cards you are likely to take tricks. You'll also want to pass away high hearts because when they are led, you must be able to duck them. But the most important thing is the queen of spades. If you have like 2 spades and the queen of spades, then you're in trouble. Other players will lead spades to fish out the queen. If you don't have enough spades, you will be forced to eat it yourself. So pass her if you don't have enough spades to back her up. Also pass the king and ace of spades.
A good pass always contains a bad shooting card. Most of the time this is with low hearts. If you pass a low heart, the receiver won't be able to shoot easily. Another good thing to do is voiding a suit so you don't have any cards left of it and when it is led, you can play what you want.
The cards are then passed to the player on the Left, Right, Across, or not passed. The type of pass is displayed in the center of the playing board {at Hardwood Hearts}.
As each card for the pass is selected, they will stick out a bit in the hand. When 3 cards have been picked, click on the center of the board to pass them.
LEAD
The player with the 2 of clubs will lead {start out} the trick. Next the player to the left will play a card of the same suit, as will the 3rd and 4th player. If a player doesn't have a card in that suit they may play any other card besides a point card. { A player may not play a point card on the first hand.} The person with the highest card in the lead suit will "take the trick" that is, take all four cards.
Now the player winning that trick will lead, they can play any card they wish, except a point card. {A player can't lead with a point card until hearts have been broken.} Every player must then play a card of the same suit as the lead card. If they don't have any cards in that suit, they can play any suit, including hearts since it's no longer the first hand.
Once a heart {point} card has been played, a player may lead with hearts on the following hand. If a player takes a trick with a heart card, each heart card they took is worth one point. This is how players get points.
OBJECT
Players try to finish the game with the least amount of points. You get points by taking tricks that have point cards in them. Points cards consist of the entire Hearts suit, {one point for each card} and the Queen of Spades which is worth 13 points.
The game ends when at the end of a hand, one of the players reaches a certain number of points chosen prior to the start of the game. And that's the basic play. Players keep playing until they run out of the cards in that hand, then the deck is dealt out again and they play until someone reaches the predetermined point level, at which time the game is over.
TWIST
If a player takes every point in a hand, they receive no points, and everyone but the Shooter gets 26 points. This is called Running or Shooting the Moon. It's risky to try, but the rewards are great.
TIES
The game does not allow ties for first place. In the case of a tie for first, the game will continue until there is a clear winner. This is true of both games ending at a point value and timed games.
VARIATIONS
JD {Jack of Diamonds}
The Jack of Diamonds is worth -10 points. This adds a lot to the strategy of the game. As you are trying to not only stay clear of the QS {Queen of Spades} but now are trying to take the JD. The JD is not needed to shoot the moon.
SPOT HEARTS
The hearts cards are worth their face value. 3 of hearts = 3 points, 10 = 10, J = 11, Q = 12, A = 14, etc. The QS is worth 50 points. Shooting the Moon is worth 150, and if you play with the JD, the JD is worth -40.
TIMED GAME
In a timed game, the game ends after so much time has elapsed instead of a particular point value. The player picks the time before playing. When that time elapses, you will finish the current hand, then the game will be finished.
SHOOT THE SUN
A player shoots the sun when they have taken every card in the hand, not just the point cards as it is when Shooting the Moon. When you've done this, every other player gets 52 Points {300 points in Spot Hearts}
ALWAYS PASS
With this option, the "No Pass" round of passing is skipped, so that 3 cards are always passed. The pass sequence then is Left, Right, Across.
PARTNERS
Partners sit opposite of each other and they keep their tricks together. On each hand your team scores the total number of penalty points you and your pard have taken in your tricks. A shoot occurs if one team takes all point cards in a hand. Each player keeps an individual score during a hand, but at the end of each hand the points are combined. The team with fewer points wins.
Partners Hearts is about teamwork and winning. Here are a few tips that should greatly increase your chances of winning the game.
Passing - The KEY To Partners
{1} Talking To Your Partner
Talk to your partner before hand and see what your partner expects from a pass and typical passes. This is the most important rule I can think of. Some teams play so they pass the pard the run every time, some play pass all low cards, some always pass certain suits. It is extremely important to know what to expect from your partner before making a decision on what cards in your hand to pass. Also, knowing what your partner passes gives you insight into your partners hand.
{2} Stoppers
Do not pass heart stoppers to your partner unless they tell you it's ok. The only exception to this rule is if you know you have a run. There is nothing more annoying than having a running hand and getting a low heart from your partner.
{3} Afraid To Pass The Queen?
Don't be afraid to pass the queen, king or ace of spades to your partner. If you have only one or two cards jack or lower, it is better to send those cards to your partner than to be stuck with them yourself. The probability is that your partner is in better shape to get rid of them than you are, and that helps the team.
{4} Passing The Queen To Your Partner
If you pass the queen of spades to your partner, pass all the spades you can with her. Passing the naked queen will hurt you and your partner.
{5} Do You Have To Pass The Ace Or King Of Spades? {opponent pass}
If you have to pass the ace or king of spades, hold on to one or 2 low spades. There is nothing worse than passing all your spades and getting the queen passed to you. You should try to have some backup.
{6} Passing To Your Opponent
When passing to your opponent, do not pass the queen of spades if you have more than 3 spades in your hand. It is always much better that you keep control of her. When in a JD partners game---do not pass them high diamonds {Ace, king, queen or jack}, unless you're sure you have a shoot without them.
{7} Stopping Your Opponent When Passing To Them
Make sure you can stop the person you are passing to if it is your opponent. For most people, this means pass a medium heart. But, pay close attention... if I have the A-J of clubs, and the queen of spades, there is little reason to pass a heart to my opponent, especially if most my hearts are low ones. I can probably sweep the clubs, and my partner should heart me. Similarly, If I have a slew of diamonds including the Ace too, I may pass 3 diamonds to my opponent, knowing I can duck him and cover a heart coming out with my ace.
{8} Remembering What You Passed To Your Partner
Remember what you passed to your partner and opponents and look for those cards being played. This is very important in the game. Knowing when your partner can duck a card will help you decide when to throw the queen, but be patient! Make sure your pard can duck the trick before tossing out the queen.
{9} Paying Attention To Opponents Passing
Watch how your opponents pass. You can always spot a newbie right away. If your opponent passes you the run on the first trick, you may have not prepared your hand for his pass. Prepare it though the next time they pass to you. Generally someone who doesn't pass stoppers and ducks everything played, will consistently give you generous cards.
{10} Being Nice
This should go without saying, but pass nicely to your partner. It's a team score, it does no good to stick your partner with crappy cards.
Hitting Your Partner With A Heart
This is how you can tell the people who know how to play from the people who don't know how: Unless you are going to run, if hearts are not broken, and your partner is taking a trick, heart your partner if at all possible {In a JD game--Give your pard the JD}. If you break hearts on your partner or give your partner the JD, your opponents cannot run, and half your worries are behind you. I always hit my partner with the JD first if I have it, then a middle numbered heart, so my pard can decide about running at that time. This also breaks hearts if your partner is stuck with the queen, giving your pard more options.
Tells
Send tells to your partner about what cards you have in your hand. This is done in several ways.
THE NO QUEEN TELL: Tell your partner that you don't have the Queen of Spades by playing a spade on a non-spades trick. If you know your partner doesn't have the queen, you can also tell your partner you don't have her by leading spades.
THE I DO HAVE THE QUEEN TELL: This one is easy, keep leading high cards in a single suit that is not spades. Your partner should give you a heart at this point allowing you to try to run, or at least have another suit so you don't get stuck in spades.
THE I WANT TO RUN TELL: Normally this is accomplished by playing out your low cards first, then escalating. I look for this from my opponents as well.
THE I HAVE JD TELL: For the pass:I'll either pass my partner the Ace of diamonds only, so he can lead the Ace, or I can toss out JD at anytime knowing my pard has the Ace. On an opponent pass, I'll lead a small diamond or start ditching high diamonds as soon as I can. During game play...I'll lead a low diamond to let my pard know I have JD.
THE I DON'T HAVE JD TELL: I will avoid at all cost to lead a small diamond {2 through 10 of diamonds}. Lead a different suit.
Do not send misleading tells, if you have the queen of spades, do not play a spade on an early trick making your partner think it's ok to lead them, unless you're trying to ditch Ace and/or King of spades.
When Choosing Not To Run
If you aren't going to run it, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS break hearts on your partner if you know they can take a trick {IN a JD game--Give your partner the JD}. This stops your opponent from running. If you can't break hearts on your partner, break hearts on the person you passed to if you know you have a stopper on that person. Don't risk the run.
Covering Your Partner
Cover your partner. It does no good to play this game selfishly. If your partner has the queen, make sure you're taking tricks rather than allowing your opponents to take them and lead spades. If your partner gets stuck playing hearts, play a higher heart and switch suits. If both of you are the only ones left with a club or a diamond, play your higher card, and switch suits. One very helpful tactic when your partner has the Queen is to play your high cards in a suit (e.g. Ace, King clubs) till your partner runs out of that suit, then ducking with the low cards. When ducking low, again make sure your partner knows it's low. If you have the 3, 4 and/or 5 of a suit to duck with, duck with the 2 or 3 so your pard will not hesitate.
When your partner is out of a suit, and you are unsure where the queen is, play the lowest card in the suit your partner is out of, if you can. This will give your partner a chance to dump the queen of spades if your partner has her. If your partner doesn't have her, you will know that then. Your opponent will take the trick, so you don't have to worry about being queened.
One special note here, try to be out of a suit on the pass. One thing you can do is pass all your diamonds. Another thing you can do is pass all your clubs but one. This makes you EXTREMELY dangerous in play. After the first trick, you are totally out of clubs or diamonds if all goes well. If your partner leads the highest in either suit, you can throw your partner a heart or JD. If your partner leads low, you can dump your queen of spades, or other high spade letting your partner know to go ahead and play the spades.
Paying Attention & Knowing Your Opponents
Pay attention to what's been played and play accordingly. {Personally, I count cards.}
Know your opponents and their style of play. This takes time, but can really help you develop a good game.
The Finishing Blow
This is where alot of people really have trouble with the game, putting the finishing blow in. Here's how it's done.
If you are within 13 points of going out, keep the queen of spades, ace of spades and/or king of spades. Don't be afraid to pass the run. If you have the queen of spades, play it immediately. If noone covers it, you win. If your opponent covers it, then the least that is going to happen that hand is you come out even. You don't have to worry about your opponent running, because if they do, you win.
If you and your pard are within 13 points of going out, again, pass the run. Queen your partner if at all possible. Feed your pard hearts. Do anything you can to put your partner out of the game.
If your opponent is within 25 points of going out, pass the run to his buddy. Pass the highest cards you have in your hand to him so that it's a pain to get rid of them. He can't run at that point, because he loses if he does. Then chip away at him and the pard that are about to go out.
PLAYING TIPS
Your responsibility as a player is to pass cards to other players that tends to prevent them from shooting the moon and gives you the ability to try to shoot the moon yourself or limit the amount of points you take in a hand. Always try to pass a low heart and keep a higher heart to capture that low heart. If you're successful, you will prevent the player you pass to from shooting the moon. All players have this responsibility, but a large number don't understand or won't take the responsibility. If you detect a player attempting to shoot during a hand, it is best to stop him even if you didn't pass to him. Remember a few points are better than 26 points. Some players tend to sit back and duck (under play) stopping tricks, which usually results in letting someone shoot the moon. They do this, thinking someone else is going to make the stop. Not a good way to play, but, alot of players tend to do this. There will be times when you can't pass correctly to prevent the player you pass to from shooting , if it happens don't dwell on it, just do your best to try to prevent a moon, even you have to eat the queen of spades yourself.{13 points is STILL better than 26 points.}
Keeping the above thought in mind, when you pass and you're sure you can't shoot the moon yourself, pass in a way that best sets up your hand to minimize taking point cards. Sometimes you can pass to void a suit and if cards passed to you do not negate the void , then you can throw off losing high cards as tricks are played. Passing is a gamble, because of the cards you might receive, but in time you can learn to guess better in passing.
On the flip side, don't try to shoot with a low heart in your hand.
QS {Queen of Spades} TIPS
The best way not to get the queen is to have it. If you have alot of spades with the queen, then you can avoid the queen fishing. When everyone is out of spades and you still have the queen, they will lead another suit. Try to get rid of all suits and then play the queen {having some patience and preferably giving it to the person with the lowest score}.
If you don't have it, try to throw away ace and king of spades as quickly as possible. These cards win the queen easily. Also try to duck clubs and diamonds especially when a few rounds of them have been played. The person with the queen will try to get rid of clubs and diamonds and then throw it on those suits, so it is a risk. If you have high cards, take early tricks with them to get rid of them. Chances of someone dumping the queen early are small.
Some players just dump the QS at the very first chance they can in a hand. This is bad play, especially if they have enough spades to back the queen to give them a choice of when to play it. A good heart player will try with patience, each hand, to give the queen of spades to the player with the low score. This is not always possible but you should always be patient and try.
A bad thing happens when you're dealt a few spades {0 to 3 of them} and then someone passes the queen to you. You'll be the victim of fishing attempts. You can only hope to get rid of other suits so that you can dump the queen when someone leads such a suit. Best way to do this is not hoping other people will lead other suits than clubs, they simply won't. So take a trick and lead those suits yourself, always leading highest cards first. This way you keep taking tricks and keep leading non-spades until all are gone out of your hand. When that is done, hope for someone to lead a non-spade and dump the queen.{Preferably having enough patience to dump her on lowman.}
One strategy for passing the QS is to always pass it if you don't have at least 4 spades with the queen, otherwise you stand a good chance of eating it, if other players continue to lead spades. Also, if you're passing the QS to the player to your right, and say you have the ace of spades, 3 of spades, and the QS, you should be able to hold the ace and not risk taking the queen. On the first spade lead, other than the QS, you can play the ace of spades. I use this passing method to give me the option of maybe passing another losing high card, knowing that keeping the ace isn't that much of a risk.
Never pass spades other than the queen, ace, or king unless you're gambling on setting up your cards for shooting the moon and a spade pass enhances your position. Some players consider it unethical to pass the QS and then on the first opportunity you have to lead spades to the holder of the queen. I play in games often where a player { he knows himself and the queen holder are the only players with spades} keeps leading spades to the queen holder, even if queen holder is high scorer and taking the queen puts that player out. The person leading the spades in most case's is a high scorer also and stands no chance of winning with this ploy. As I said before, a good heart player will have patience and wait to attempt to give the queen to the low scorer in a game.
Don't pass a Spade lower than the QS, these come in handy when you are trying to force the QS from another player.
Pass any Spade card that is higher than Jack of Spades if you don't have a few lower spades to protect you.
It's not always bad to have the QS. If you have enough backers {other spade cards} you can strategically give her to another player. What you do is void a suit {get rid of a suit}, so that way, when another player leads that suit you can dump the QS.
Sometimes it's good to pass the QS. At least you know who has her.
If a player isn't leading with a spade suit early in the game, it's likely that they have some high spades they're worried about.
Be careful, often you will take the QS when Spades wasn't even lead. What happens is, it might be the third round of Clubs, and a player that has the QS will drop her on that trick. So get rid of those high cards early.
If you pass the QS to the right, you have the best vantage point, as you always go after that person when you don't lead. It's harder for them to drop the QS on you.
JD {Jack of Diamonds} TIPS
Don't pass any card higher than the 10 of Diamonds.
A good consideration for playing the jack of diamonds is if you have no chance of taking it in a hand, attempt to play it on a trick to be taken by the high scorer in the game. This is especially true if its late in the game and you are winning, you don't want either of the other two players to capture the jack and enhance their scores. Of course if the high scorer has obtained enough points to go out in this hand and the scores of the other two players are high as well, you could give either of them the jack and still win, but if it would give them the winning score, try to prolong the game and give it to the high scorer. Often it is hard to control who gets the jack.
If you have the JD, and lots of smaller Diamond cards, use them to bring out the cards that could take your JD (QD, KD, and Ace of D).
Play close attention for those cards, since after those cards are gone, you safely lead with your JD. You can also, just keep an eye out for those cards without actively prying them out of your opponents hands. But be leery of the QS if she's still in play, you might dig up more than Diamonds if you're not careful!
GENERAL TIPS
It would be beneficial on your part to count cards. You'll have a better advantage this way, of knowing what or how many cards are left to be played.
It's often easier to shoot the moon with a suit other than Hearts. If you have most of the top cards in other suits, and don't have low heart card, that can be a good hand for a shoot too.
If you are the only one that can win the rest of the tricks in the hand, the TRAM button will show up. Press it to automatically finish the hand. TRAM stands for The Rest Are Mine. It has no impact on the outcome of the game.
If you try to shoot the moon and fail, you likely have a bunch of high cards, avoid taking any trick at that point as you might TRAM.
If someone just got the QS and they can shoot, look for them trying to ditch a low heart. Make sure that you or another player takes it before they shoot.
Use the "show last trick", it will show you the last hand played. You'll find it in the Game options tab to the Upper Right of the screen. You will also find the "Auto Queue" option there, it automatically plays a card if that's the only one you could play.
If you forgot what rules are in play for the current game, use the Game Info tab.
Beware of the Queen of Spades! Pass high spades (ace, king, queen) so you don't get stuck with the Queen. Hold anything lower than the Queen. Someone might pass the Queen to you, and you don't want to be forced to play her.
Void yourself. If you're short in a suit, pass cards to void it so you can discard Hearts, the Queen, or any other high cards.
Get rid of high cards. Pass them or play them early to avoid taking tricks, and collecting points.
Keep any really low cards (like 2's and 3's). Don't pass them, and try to hold onto them for later rounds.
Drive out the Queen. Lead low spades early in the game to force someone else to play her.
Guard the moon. If you see a player taking lots of hearts and the Queen try to dump a heart on someone else, or take one yourself. You don't want to get stuck with 26 points.
STRATEGY
Avoiding Points
Unless you're trying to Shoot the Moon, you should try to avoid taking points. If you have hearts in your hand, try to discard them without taking the trick. For example, if a spade is led and you do not have any spades, you should discard the highest heart you have, since the trick will be taken by the player of the highest spade. The queen of spades also needs to be avoided, since she is worth 13 points. If you decide to keep her, or if an opponent passes her to you, look for ways to safely discard her. Be careful not to use up all your low cards before discarding the queen of spades. You do not want to take a trick and then not be able to relinquish the lead. There is one exception to the rule of avoiding points. You might need to take a heart to prevent an opponent from Shooting the Moon. Keep track of who has taken points during the hand, so you will know when this is necessary.
Getting less hearts
If you have low hearts you are unlikely to take a trick that was led by hearts. These leads are the next most dangerous to the queen. Because they are most of the time worth 4 points. Try to have a low heart (2,3 or 4) then a middle one (6,7 or 8) and a high one. With these cards you can duck most heart leads. If you throw away hearts, throw your highest ones. Dont throw a high heart when they haven't been broken yet if you don't have low ones. Because hearts will most likely be led directly afterwards and you'll most likely take it. If this is the situation, better do it during fishing.
Safe hands
A safe hand is one with very low cards, and no queen of spades. With this hand you can duck all the time getting no points. You can also have a safe hand even if you have a few aces or so, as long as you can dump those early. Beware though of having safe hands : It's likely that another player has all the high cards and will shoot. You can't stop him then.
Bad hands
You have the queen and very few spades. Or you have very high cards {ex: the jack, queen, king of clubs will force you to take clubs tricks and the points in it}. Or you have high hearts without low ones. Not much to explain why it is bad, you'll take many tricks and thus have a higher risk to get the queen dumped on you.
Protection
Protection cards are low cards of a suit where you have high ones too. Ex: if you have 5 or more hearts with 3 low ones you can duck all heart leads until noone has any anymore. So your high hearts aren't a risk for you because you are the only one with it. Best protection to have is spades when you have the queen.
Targeting hand
You have protection for spades and the queen. You also have little clubs and diamonds. With this hand you can avoid fishing, void your other suits and dump the queen easily. Consider waiting to dump it until your target {person with the lowest score} takes the trick.
Shooting hand
You have high hearts and other high ones. Cards that can make you take all tricks. Even with low cards you can have a shooting hand, you just need to get rid of them early. Other hands are one's with almost all cards of the same suit. You can keep leading it and taking the points in those.
Targeting
Try whenever possible, especially with safe and targeting hands, to give your hearts and queen to the player with the lowest points, also called lowman. You'll be surprised when you are winning how much points come to you and not to anybody else. Make sure not to give points to losing players, because when they are over the limit, you lose too {Winning is the only thing that counts}.
However when you are winning, you can :
*Target the player closest to you.
*Target the loser when he is near the limit.
Targeting is always a risk. You might end up with all high cards because you wanted to target but never were able to. Sometimes you end up with the queen, perhaps leading it in the last trick. When someone is losing and a trick might end the game you might consider taking it yourself to prevent an early end to the game.
Shooting
This is by far the coolest thing you can do. You need to get all points, but not all tricks. If you are dealt bad cards you might consider to shoot, and pass good cards and hope to get more bad ones. If you have alot of hearts, then beware to have the ace of hearts. Most shooting attempts fail there. Smart people hang onto their ace to prevent shooting.
Try to get rid of your low cards early in the round, not taking any tricks. When a heart or the queen falls make sure you can take it. Best shooting is to stay low until you have all the highest cards, and hoping people dump theirs early. You might lead a low card to get people to dump their high cards so that they can't stop you.
Never come out with your high cards too early, or your attempt will get quickly noticed. When they know they will hold their high cards and you will fail. Make it look like an accident when you get hearts. Also don't take a queen trick with a king or leading lower spades after that. It's likely that you'll get stuck with a mid-level hearts card. Make sure you can get rid of it early when your shooting isn't noticed yet, by leading it. They will duck it.
Professional shooting requires certainly that you count all cards that are played. You need to know if someone else still has a higher card than you, so that you know it is safe to play it.
There are two different shooting hands:
*High cards of several suits.
*Many {7+} cards of 1 suit.
The first one is easiest. Just get rid of the low ones until all higher cards of the others are out. Requires some luck though, you might want the ace of clubs to fall but another player might be too scared to do it (in order not to get the queen) and mess up your attempt.
Having almost all cards of a suit is tricky. You need to get rid of other suits, and when that is done, immediately take the lead. If you can't take the lead, you're in trouble. This is especially the case with 7+ hearts cards. You might have 10 hearts cards in your hand left, but when someone else leads diamonds, you'll have to give him a heart.
Stopping shoots
A good way to make sure people can't shoot is:
*Pass a low heart.
*When possible dump a heart on someone else instead of another bad card.
*Keep a high card (especially an ace).
People are often shooting when you see them playing all low cards on high tricks. When you see them leading high cards when that suit has been played before. Also when they play high hearts (never smart). If you see that, get rid of high and mid-level cards except one. Don't keep them all or you'll end up being the victim. Preferably, keep the ace of hearts when you have enough protection there.
I hope that this tutorial will be beneficial to you...
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