Can You Pass the Queen of Spades in Hearts?

Yes, you can pass the Queen of Spades in Hearts. In many cases, passing the Queen of Spades can be an ideal pre-game move. Still, a player may be forced to take back the Queen of Spades if they later win a trick in which it is played.

Whether playing online Hearts or with friends in person, the Queen of Spades is the card almost no one wants to take when winning a trick. Being worth thirteen points in a game where the goal is to have the least points makes the Queen of Spades a hot potato. However, understanding when to pass the Queen of Spades and who to pass her to is essential to becoming a skilled Hearts player.

When Should the Queen of Spades be Passed?

It must be said that simply holding the Queen of Spades in an opening hand doesn’t automatically doom a player's score. When held and used wisely, a player can force the Queen of Spades onto another player during their turn.!

One scenario for passing the Queen of Spades is when you also hold other high-rank Spade cards. Passing the Queen along with the King and Ace of Spades means the player they passed to cannot play a Spades-led hand without taking the trick.

Their only out is to dump the Queen of Spades onto tricks where they have no matching suit. This puts the player holding the Queen of Spades in a difficult position.

Another option is to pass the Queen of Spades with a couple of high-rank Heart cards. Once again, the player now holding these cards is in a difficult position.

If someone leads with a Heart, they may be forced to take an entire trick of nothing but Hearts because they had no option except to play their high-rank Heart. With luck, they’ll also be stuck with the Queen of Spades or play it on another player’s winning trick.

When to Keep the Queen of Spades

A common scenario in which a player might want to keep the Queen of Spades is when they want to try shooting the moon in Hearts. This high-risk, high-reward strategy involves collecting all thirteen Heart cards and the Queen of Spades by the end of the round.

In this unique scenario, the player who shoots the moon takes zero points while all other players take twenty-six. This helps ensure the player who shot the moon stands a good chance of winning the whole game with the least points.

You can lead with the Queen of Spades in Hearts, but not in the first trick. Once the first trick has been played, a player can play the Queen of Spades on any Spade trick or a trick where the player has no cards of that suit.

This strategy can also backfire spectacularly. If a player fails to collect even a single Heart, they must take all the points of the Hearts and the Queen of Spades.

Passing it Along

Knowing the ideal direction to pass the Queen is as important as understanding when to pass it. The passing direction changes with each round. When passing to the left, that player now has the option to play the Queen of Spades after you play your card. This means you could be forced to take back the Queen of Spades.

Passing to the right or across the table can be more beneficial. The player that passed the Queen of Spades can now watch which cards the preceding players play first, as play rotation is always clockwise. If another player to the right plays the Queen of Spades before the player's turn, the player may use a throwaway card to avoid taking the Queen.!

Long Live the Queen

One of the reasons Hearts has remained popular for so long is its complexity. The Queen of Spades is a key part of that, and learning how to pass or keep it will change the way you play. Try your hand now at Hearts.co!