Auction Hearts is a variant of the classic card game Hearts. Both are "trick taking" games, a trick being the rounds or hands played within each game. A trick is won when a player has a higher card than the other players in that round. But winning or taking tricks in the classic version of Hearts is not the sole goal; rather, it also requires that each player try to avoid winning tricks that have Hearts in them. Each player wants to have the lowest, rather than the highest, number of points at the game's end. Avoiding tricks with Hearts is the way to achieve the lowest score. In Auction Hearts the avoided suit is variable. It is based upon the post-deal bidding of the players.
After the cards have been dealt, players review their hand to determine which suit they want to be avoided throughout the game. Each player then places a bid for the amount of chips they are willing to put into the winnings pot if they get to choose the game's avoided suit. Each player gets one bid, which must be higher than the bid of the preceding player. Players can also choose to pass on bidding if they are not willing to bid higher than the previous player's bid. At the end of each round, a player with no cards from the game's avoided suit can claim the winnings pot or continue playing another hand. If the winning player decides not to claim the pot, or if all players hold cards from the game's avoided suit, the game resumes with the previously established suit to be avoided. Players with cards in their hand from the game's avoided suit must put up chips into the winnings pot for each card they hold from the game's avoided suit.
It appears as though the classic game of Hearts emerged in the United States around the 19th century as a not so distant cousin of the 18th century Spanish card game Reversis, and the European card game, Reverse. It has since gained popularity among elementary school students in the United States and has also been included with the games section of all Microsoft Windows operating systems for several years.
Auction Hearts is one of many variations of Hearts, including the Black Lady and foreign versions of the game such as Chinese Hearts and Likha. The exact emergence of Auction Hearts is unclear, but it is a rarer version of Hearts that was likely created as a way to easily integrate gambling into the classic game of Hearts since the main difference between Auction Hearts, the classic Hearts and other variations is that Auction Hearts presents the added element of gambling more directly with its upfront bidding for control of the game's avoided suit.