How do you play Hearts?

[JohnCU]

I've been trying all morning to play Hearts on the comp, but I just have no idea how to stop getting so many points. I've read some guides and rules about it on google, but they don't help much.

 

[Moonbeam]

I had that experience playing my father, but the computer is easy to beat. Not too hard to get the queen and all the hearts and give everybody else 26. It's awefull heard to explain how. Try playing alot. You sort of develope a feel for going for it, reducing your hand of certain suites so you can drop what you like, or geting rid of high cards.

edit: Depends on the deal.

 

[kranky]

I'm assuming you know the rules and are just interested in strategy.

Some general things I do:
Pass the Queen of Spades (and the King / Ace if you have them). Then try to make sure enough Spades are led until the Queen is played.
If you don't have any of those, try to pass all your Clubs or Diamonds. The sooner you are out of a suit the sooner you can dump the Queen if you have it.
Don't be in a big hurry to play a Heart. Remember once someone plays a Heart, then people can lead Heart tricks. If you don't have low Hearts, that may not be good for you.
If you are stuck with the King or Ace of Spades, try to allow the person to your left to lead. That way if Spades are led, you play last and can dump your King or Ace.
I often pass the Ace of Clubs when passing to the left so he will lead the second trick (unless he also has the 2 of Clubs). Most people immediately lead Spades after the first Club trick, so I want to go last in case I have the King or Ace to dump.
If you pass the Queen of Spades, remember where it went. You can then sometimes safely play the King or Ace of Spades since you know where the Queen is.
Sometimes you have to take points to avoid more points. For example, if you have 2-3-4-K of Hearts, with Hearts led and the Queen of Spades not played yet, you might want to throw the King even if that means you'll take 4 points. That way you have 2-3-4 left and won't get stuck with any more Heart tricks.