Dealer's Choice
In standard Hearts every pass is three cards, and every fourth hand (at four players) nobody passes at all. Dealer’s Choice hands that decision to the dealer, one hand at a time.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”- The cards are dealt as usual.
- Everyone looks at their hand. The dealer then names how many cards everyone will pass this hand: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
- Everyone passes that many cards, in the usual direction for the hand. If the dealer says 0, nobody passes and play starts straight away.
The dealer sees their own hand before choosing, so the number is a real decision: a dealer with a clean hand might keep the pass small, while one holding the queen of spades with no cover might want to move as many cards as possible.
Direction
Section titled “Direction”The direction still rotates hand by hand, but the fixed hold hand is removed: the only hands without a pass are the ones where the dealer calls 0.
| Players | Rotation |
|---|---|
| 3 | left, right, left, right, … |
| 4 | left, right, across, left, … |
| 5 | left, right, two to the left, two to the right, left, … |
Things worth knowing
Section titled “Things worth knowing”- Calling 0 is the dealer’s way to keep a hand they like intact. It also means nobody else gets to dump their trouble cards.
- Five cards is a big pass at every table width: at five players, where hands are only ten cards, it is half your hand.
- Everyone passes the same number. There is no way to pass fewer than the dealer named.
- If the dealer runs out of time on a timed table, the pass is set to three.
Rated or casual?
Section titled “Rated or casual?”Casual. A game played under Dealer’s Choice never changes anyone’s rating.
Scoring is unchanged, so the in-person scorecard works exactly as it does for standard Hearts.