When to Shoot the Moon in Hearts

What shooting the moon does

In Hearts every heart is worth 1 point and the Queen of Spades is worth 13, for 26 points in the deck, and the lowest score wins when somebody reaches 100. Normally you avoid points. But if one player takes all 26 in a single hand, the scoring inverts: the shooter scores 0 and each of the other three players is given 26 points. That is how CardCouch scores it, and it is the standard rule. Some home games let the shooter subtract 26 from their own total instead; the difference matters only near the end of the game.

A successful moon is a 26-point gain on every opponent at once. A failed moon is usually the opposite: you have deliberately taken a pile of hearts and then lost the one trick that mattered, and you eat 15 or 20 points while the player who stopped you takes a handful. The asymmetry is why good players shoot rarely and defend against it constantly.

The hand that can shoot

To shoot you must win every trick that contains a point: all 13 hearts and whichever trick the Queen of Spades falls in. In practice you need to win most of the tricks in the hand, and every trick from the moment hearts start appearing. Look for:

• Long, high hearts. A♥ and K♥ are essential; with Q♥, J♥ and two or three more behind them you can lead hearts from the top and never lose one. Six or more hearts headed by A-K-Q is the classic shape.
• High spades, including the Queen. Holding Q♠ yourself, with the A♠ or K♠ to protect it, means nobody can dump 13 points on you unexpectedly. Holding A♠ and K♠ without the Queen also works: you win the trick she is thrown on.
• A void or near-void suit. When that suit is led you throw a loser instead of following. Voids are how you get rid of the low cards that would otherwise lose a trick.
• Very few low cards. This is the one that decides it. Every low card is a trick you might lose, and one lost trick with a heart in it ends the attempt.

Why low cards kill a moon

Suppose you hold A♥ K♥ Q♥ J♥ 9♥ and the 3♥. Everything is fine until you have led the five high hearts and won them, and now the 3♥ is your last heart. If anyone still holds a heart, they win that trick and take a point, and your 25 points become your score for the hand. The same applies to a 4♣ in a suit where you have no Ace: when clubs are led late, with hearts broken and players throwing hearts on every trick, you cannot win it. Count your low cards before you count your Aces.

Passing for a moon: the reverse pass

CardCouch passes three cards each hand, cycling left, right, across, and hold. A normal pass gets rid of high cards and the Queen of Spades. A moon pass is the reverse: pass your lowest cards and keep every high one.

• Pass low hearts first. Every low heart you pass is a trick you no longer have to win. Passing 2♥ 3♥ 5♥ turns an eight-heart hand headed by A-K-Q into a five-heart hand that cannot lose a heart trick.
• Then low cards in a short suit. Passing two cards from a three-card suit leaves you with a singleton and creates a void one trick sooner.
• Never pass A♥, K♥, or the spades that protect the Queen. Those are the hand.

Be aware of the tell. Receiving three low hearts is a strong signal that the passer wants to shoot, and an attentive opponent will keep a heart stopper. On a hold hand (no pass) the same hand is easier to shoot with because nobody has been warned.

Reading the table mid-hand

A moon is decided in the first four or five tricks, and you should keep checking whether it is still alive.

• If anyone else takes a heart, the moon is dead. Instantly. There is no coming back from another player holding one point, so the moment a heart goes to someone else, switch to playing a normal hand and dumping your own hearts.
• If someone else takes the Queen, the moon is dead for the same reason.
• Watch who is void. A player who threw a diamond on a club trick is void in clubs; they will throw hearts on your club winners later, which is fine, but they will also win any low club you are forced to lead.
• Count the hearts. If you have taken nine and hold the other four, and they are all high, the moon is home. If you have taken nine and someone else still holds one you cannot beat, start dumping.

When to abandon

Abandon the moment you lose a trick that contained a point, and abandon early if the first two or three tricks show two or more players holding stoppers in your suits. The cost of abandoning at trick four with 5 points already taken is 5 points. The cost of pressing on and losing at trick eleven is 20. Bail out early and play for the smallest score you can salvage.

Let the score decide

• Far behind: shoot with any plausible hand. A 26-point swing is the only way to catch up, and the downside of taking 20 points when you are already losing is small.
• An opponent is close to 100: a successful moon pushes them over and, if you are lowest, wins the game on the spot. This is the best reason to shoot with a merely good hand.
• You are at 90 or more: never. A failed attempt hands you 15 to 25 points and ends the game with you as the loser. Play tight and let someone else reach 100 first.
• Two opponents are close to 100 and one is far below: be careful. A moon puts the low player at +26 too, but if it ends the game and you are not lowest, you still lose.

Worked examples

How to stop a shooter

Defending against the moon is more important than shooting it, because a moon costs you 26 whether you were the target or not.

• Take one heart early. When you suspect a moon, win a single heart trick as soon as you safely can. One point taken by anyone else ends the attempt. Trading 1 point for 26 is the best deal in the game.
• Hold a stopper in each suit. Do not throw away your A♥ or K♥ on a low heart trick when the moon is possible; they are the cards that stop it. Likewise keep a high club or diamond so you can win a late trick the shooter needs.
• Dump the Queen on the shooter, carefully. If the shooter does not hold Q♠ and you do, giving it to them does not stop them; it helps them. Give the Queen to a player who is not shooting, or take a heart yourself instead.
• Read the pass and the early leads. Three low hearts arriving in your hand, or an opponent leading Aces on tricks two and three, are the signs. React before the hearts start.