In the 1920s, the J ♦ variation (ten positive points) was introduced, and sometime later the scoring was reversed so that penalty points were expressed as positive instead of negative. To begin with, Black Lady did not have the option of 'shooting the moon' that came later. This new variant has since become the standard game of the Hearts group in America where it is often, somewhat confusingly, also called 'Hearts'. In 1909, the Q ♠ was added as the highest penalty card in a variant called either Discard Hearts, after the new feature of passing unwanted cards to other players after the deal, or Black Lady, after the nickname for the Q ♠. The second scoring scheme was: Ace 5, King 4, Queen 3, Jack 2 and all pips 1 chip each. The first was the precursor to Spot Hearts whereby the cards of the heart suit cost the following in chips: Ace 14, King 13, Queen 12, Jack 11 and pip cards their face value. Two scoring variants were mentioned under the name 'Double or Eagle Game'. The basic format has changed little since. It was a no-trump, trick-taking game for four players using a full pack of cards, the aim being to avoid taking any hearts in tricks. It described Hearts as 'a most pleasant game, highly provocative of laughter'. Hearts itself emerged in the United States during the 1880s, The Standard Hoyle of 1887 reporting that it had only been played there for 'the last five years' and was 'probably of German origin'.

A similar game called 'Four Jacks' centred around avoiding any trick containing a Jack, which were worth one penalty point, and J ♠ worth two. In this game, a penalty point was awarded for each trick won, plus additional points for taking J ♥ or Q ♥ in tricks. The game of Hearts probably originated with Reversis, which became popular around 1750 in Spain. The original game of Hearts is still current but has been overtaken in popularity by Black Lady in the United States and Black Maria in Great Britain. The game is a member of the Whist group of trick-taking games (which also includes Bridge and Spades), but is unusual among Whist variants in that it is a trick-avoidance game players avoid winning certain penalty cards in tricks, usually by avoiding winning tricks altogether. It was first recorded in America in the 1880s and has many variants, some of which are also referred to as 'Hearts', especially the games of Black Lady and Black Maria. Hearts is an 'evasion-type' trick-taking playing card game for four players, although most variations can accommodate between three and six players. Notes: Hearts, while not trump, award one penalty point each, hence the game's name. 52-card (51 or 54 for 3 or 6 players, 50 for 5)

Black jacks game wiki