"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked"
••• General •••
From the description of the game the most obvious strategy is to play low cards, which is all well and good if you have them, somewhat more difficult when you do not. In fact high cards are just as important (particularly in a standard game with the Jack of Diamond’s being -10) as low cards in winning the game. The most dangerous cards to have in your hand are the Jack through seven of any suit. These are the cards that will end up bringing you the most unwanted points and the least strategic advantage. A good rule to follow when beginning is to play your high cards on the first lead of a suit and move to your lower cards when the suit is led again.
There are a few instances in which high cards will prove extremely useful. The first is Shooting the Moon. Shooting the Moon is when one player takes all the points in a round, every Heart and the Queen (13) if she's being used. When this happens the player who has Shot the Moon receives -26 points (-36 with the Jack of Diamonds) which is quite an incentive to try this risky play. When Shooting the Moon the longer you can hide that from your opponents the better. Another reason to hold onto high cards is that they are useful for capturing the Jack of Diamonds.
THE NEXT THREE SECTIONS CAN BE FOUND IN ANY REGISTERED COPY OF HEARTS!
