How to Shoot the Moon in Hearts
In the game of hearts, the person with the fewest points wins. Each heart card is worth one point and the queen of spades is worth 13. To shoot the moon, you must capture all 26 points for yourself during the hand. This will give you a score of zero and gives your opponents all 26 points.
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Instructions
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Practice the game. You'll need to learn the common strategies that people use to both avoid points and prevent someone from shooting the moon. This can help you collect the points you need without getting caught. You can play hearts online or teach some friends to play with you.
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Pick the right hand. Not all hands are a good candidate for a shoot the moon try. In most cases, you'll want higher cards (jacks through aces) in several suites. Having these in the suits of hearts and spades will be the best choice but others can work as well.
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Stay under the radar. Passing and throwing away low cards can alert other players to your plans. Most players are willing to take four points to stop someone from shooting the moon.
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Keep track of the cards that have been played. You'll want to make sure that the higher cards have been played and won't catch you off guard. Keeping track of the hearts also allows you to know when you've got them all.
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Have a back up plan. Some people only try to shoot the moon if the scores are relatively even. Even so, it's easy for things to happen and for you to miss one or two cards out of the 26 points. If your plan gets thwarted, have an idea of how you can minimize the risk.
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