An essential part of the game of Hearts is the ability to make the proper pass. The correct technique will save you many points during the course of a typical game. Since you must face a passing decision (of 3 cards) at the beginning of every hand, it is in your best interest to learn this aspect of the game.

Note: that some events and sites have a keeper or hold hand on every fourth deal, and there is no pass for these hands.

The primary feature of the pass is the opportunity it provides for you to improve your hand. Of course, if you can hurt a particular opponent with a brutal pass, that is ideal. Once you have sorted your cards and analyzed your holding, you must decide what to do.

We will break down the passing technique in a specific order by suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. The latter two are equal and often referred to as minor suits ('x' indicates a non-face card).

Spade suit
The first rule of passing is to analyze the Spade suit. The Spade suit is the most critical, and the top three honors (Ace, King, and Queen) are concerns. If you are dealt the Ace or King with fewer than three other Spades lower than the Queen (e.g. A-9-7; K-7-5; A-J-3; K-2, etc.), you are urged to pass the Ace or King. These high Spades are tailor-made for gobbling up the Queen, and you don't want either one in your hand without sufficient protection.

An interesting gambit is the voiding of either minor suit, while retaining a weak Ace or King of Spades. If you are passed no cards in the suit you voided, you will be able to discard the high Spade. Or - you may get lucky and have your left hand opponent win the first trick and conveniently lead a low Spade - to your Ace or King in fourth position. The drawback to this technique is that you may be passed cards in the suit you voided, and worse yet, your right-hand opponent may grab the first trick, and lead through your Ace or King of Spades.

If you are dealt the Queen of Spades with less than four accompanying Spades (often called backers), you should pass her. Otherwise, the opponents may drive her out with repeated Spade leads. There are times when you have to gamble and keep the Queen with only three backers - especially if the rest of your hand is very bad. There is a case to be argued for keeping the Spade Queen with three low Spades - and hoping to receive the Ace or King. Obviously, Q-x-x or Q-x demands that the Queen be passed. I will review "Spade Suit Management" in greater detail in a future article.

Heart suit
The second rule of passing is to analyze the Heart suit. You have already determined that your Spade suit is safe, or you have made the appropriate pass of the Ace, King, or Queen. Now it is time to review your Hearts holding.

Each high Heart in your hand represents a potential of four points. Unless you hold Ace, King, Queen with great length (six or preferably more), or Ace, King, Queen, Jack, with a few low cards as well - your high Hearts may fetch a bushel of points. Thus, you should make every effort to pass two or three of these high Hearts. This may allow an opponent to 'shoot the moon' - a far better result than eating 20 or more points all by yourself.

Of course, if your high Hearts are accompanied by low spots such as the Deuce, Three, and/or Four or Five, you can now pass your second-highest Heart only. (It could stop a potential Moon). Never pass a singleton Ace or King (from K-x or K-x-x). When you pass a middle Heart, you must plan on winning this trick, especially if the Spade Queen has appeared, and the Heart you passed is now led.

Minor suits
The third and last rule of passing is to analyze the minor suits. You have already taken care of the Spade and Heart suits. Hopefully, you had minimal problems there, and you had the chance to take care of a weak Club or Diamond suit. A suit with low cards is a lot safer than one with middle and/or higher cards. A suit such as K-J-10-9-8 is a very strong candidate to fetch the Spade Queen, whereas a suit such as A-K-Q-10-8-5-3-2 is iron-clad and virtually immune for attack.

Why is this so? The answer is the control of those nice low cards. Every effort should be made to pass two or three cards from a very weak minor suit holding. If your hand is loaded with high cards in both minor suits, consider unloading a Heart suit of less than four-card length - with the idea of Shooting the Moon (especially if no Heart is passed to you).

Summary
In summary, it is not the high cards in the minor suits (I suppose this can apply to Hearts as well) that cause problems. It is the lack of low cards in a weak suit that ultimately collapses the hand. Any suit (other than Spades) with which you cannot duck a trick when you want to, is a most inviting situation for a player to blast you with the Queen of Spades. Of course, all hands are different, and you must make decisions based on priorities.

I will go into more detail on passing, and the prevention of Moonshots in a future column.