Hearts scoring rules
In standard Hearts, you want the lowest total score. You gain points by taking certain cards in tricks. To practice, head back to classic Hearts online.
Points table
| Card(s) | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Any Heart (♥) | 1 each | 13 hearts total → 13 points available |
| Queen of Spades (Q♠) | 13 | Often called the “Black Lady” |
| All penalty cards (13♥ + Q♠) | 26 | This is “shooting the moon” territory |
How points are assigned
Points go to the player who wins the trick containing penalty cards. You don’t score points for playing a heart—you score when you capture it in a trick you win.
Example hand scoring
Suppose you took these penalty cards across the hand:
| Captured | Points |
|---|---|
| 5 Hearts | 5 |
| Queen of Spades (Q♠) | 13 |
| Total for the hand | 18 |
When does a Hearts game end?
Many rulesets end the game when a player reaches a target score (often 100). The winner is the player with the lowest total. Online implementations may allow different end thresholds.
What is “shooting the moon” in scoring?
If a player captures all penalty cards in a hand (26 points), that player scores 0 and every other player scores 26. See the dedicated page: shooting the moon in Hearts.
Related Hearts FAQ pages
Need a quick definition? See the Hearts glossary.
- How long does a Hearts game take?
- Is Hearts skill or luck?
- Can you play Hearts with 2 or 3 players?
- Queen of Spades value
- Breaking hearts rule
- Passing directions cycle
- First trick lead rule
- Win rate percentage meaning
- Is Hearts a free game?
- Play without downloading
- How many cards are in Hearts?
- What is shooting the moon?
Back to the table: Hearts.