THE DECK:                                  A regular deck of 52 cards (13   per suit) is used. The cards rank in  ascending order:                             2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A          All four suits have equal value.                                       THE DEAL:                                  The two players are dealt 13     cards in alternating order. During theplay of the game, as a player discardsa card, he draws a replacement from   the deck.  This continues until the   deck is depleted.                                                           THE PLAY:                                  The two players alternate the    starting of each hand. The starter    leads a card from any suit. The other player must follow suit if he can. If he does not have a card of that suit, he can play any other card he wishes. The winner of the trick (one card fromeach player) leads the next trick.         Play continues until each player has played 26 cards.                                                        THE SCORE:                                 In HEARTS, each player starts    with a pre-set amount of points. The  player loses a point for each heart   he is forced to take in a trick.           If the BLACK LADY (queen of      spades) option is selected, the personwho "wins" her in a trick loses 13    points.                                    Should a player take ALL of the  hearts (and the BLACK LADY if that    option is on), he is said to have     "run" the hand and loses nothing. The opponent loses 26 points.                                                   THE GAME:                                  The game is over when one player loses all of his points. The other    player is the winner.                      Should both players lose all     their points, the one who has lost    the least (i.e., is less negative) is the winner.  Play will continue in theevent of a tie.                       ÿ