Rules for Dirty Lady

Dirty Lady is a strategic game that combines elements of luck and skill.

It’s best suited for 3–5 players (ideally 4) and typically takes 15–30 minutes per round. You’ll need a standard 52-card deck (no jokers) and something to keep score with.

The goal is to accumulate as few points as possible over multiple rounds. The winner is the player with the lowest score when the game ends!

The entire deck is dealt evenly among the players. Depending on the number of players, make adjustments to the deck:

• 3 players: Remove the 2♣️
• 4 players: Use all cards
• 5 players: Remove 2♣️ and 2♦️

Each player organizes their cards by suit and value, and keeps them hidden from others.

After the cards are dealt but before play begins, each player chooses cards to get rid of:

• Each player selects 2–3 cards (depending on your variant)
• Place the cards face down
• Pass them to the player on your left
• You must choose which cards to give before seeing what you receive

Rules for passing the Q♠ vary. A common rule is that you can only pass Q♠ if you also include another spade or the jack of diamonds (J♦️).

The game may begin in one of two ways:

• The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick, then play continues clockwise; or
• The player with the lowest club (usually 2♣️, unless removed) leads that card

In the first trick, hearts cannot be played unless a player only has hearts in hand.

The following trick-taking rules apply:

• You must follow suit if you can
• If not, you may play any card
• The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick
• The trick winner leads the next

Card ranking: Ace is highest, then King, Queen, Jack, and down to Two as lowest.

In many variants, hearts cannot be led or discarded until they’ve been played in a previous trick, or when a player cannot follow suit.

After all cards are played, score as follows:

• Queen of Spades (Q♠️) = 100 points
• Ace of Dirty Lady (A♥️) = 20 points
• All other hearts ♥️ = 10 points each
• Jack of Diamonds (J♦️) = -100 points (in many variants)

There are 240 total points per round (or 140 if J♦️ counts for -100).

Special rules:

• If one player takes ALL hearts AND Q♠, each other player receives 100 points
• If one player takes ALL tricks, cards are redealt with no scoring
• In some variants: if a player takes no tricks, they receive -50 points

The game ends in one of two ways:

• After a fixed number of rounds
• When a player reaches a set point total (usually 500)

The winner is the player with the lowest score at the end!

There are many well-known variations of Dirty Lady:

• Card exchange variants: May vary between 2–4 cards and direction (left, right, or across)
• Heart restrictions: In some versions, hearts can’t be played until “broken” – i.e., someone discards a heart because they can’t follow suit
• Discard restrictions: In some versions, you cannot discard Q♠ or A♥
• No-trick bonus: If you take no tricks, you get -50 points (bonus)

Here are some useful tips to succeed in Dirty Lady:

• Give away your high hearts during the card exchange if possible
• Try to eliminate one suit from your hand early so you can discard dangerous cards
• Avoid winning early tricks – doing so means leading, which lets others discard hearts
• Watch out for Q♠! Stick to low spades if it’s still in play
• If you get J♦️, try to keep it and score the -100 bonus
• Always track which hearts and high spades have been played