THE DECK: A regular deck of 52 cards (13 per suit) is used. The cards rank in ascending order: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A All four suits have equal value. THE DEAL: The two players are dealt 13 cards in alternating order. During theplay of the game, as a player discardsa card, he draws a replacement from the deck. This continues until the deck is depleted. THE PLAY: The two players alternate the starting of each hand. The starter leads a card from any suit. The other player must follow suit if he can. If he does not have a card of that suit, he can play any other card he wishes. The winner of the trick (one card fromeach player) leads the next trick. Play continues until each player has played 26 cards. THE SCORE: In HEARTS, each player starts with a pre-set amount of points. The player loses a point for each heart he is forced to take in a trick. If the BLACK LADY (queen of spades) option is selected, the personwho "wins" her in a trick loses 13 points. Should a player take ALL of the hearts (and the BLACK LADY if that option is on), he is said to have "run" the hand and loses nothing. The opponent loses 26 points. THE GAME: The game is over when one player loses all of his points. The other player is the winner. Should both players lose all their points, the one who has lost the least (i.e., is less negative) is the winner. Play will continue in theevent of a tie.
