Gambling terms, explained straight

Card Games

Card terms clear

In card games, to clear means to establish a suit by forcing out higher opposing cards or stoppers, making that suit usable later, or in Hearts, to have taken no penalty cards.

Applies to
General card-game terminology, especially trick-taking contexts and Hearts
How it works
A player clears a suit by playing to remove opponents' higher cards or stoppers.1 In Hearts, 'clear' describes a player who has taken no penalty cards.1

Key points

  • In trick-taking games, clearing a suit removes opponents' higher cards to make it usable later.1
  • In Hearts, a player is 'clear' when they have taken no penalty cards.1
  • The term applies to both an action (forcing out stoppers) and a state (no penalty cards).1

Not the same as

Card games Card terms boat Explains 'boat' as slang for a full house in poker. Card games Card terms pack Defines 'pack' as a set of playing cards. Card games Flush Covers terms for hands with all cards of the same suit. Card games Card game terms and phrases A general list of common card game expressions. Card games Card game terms family Groups related card game terms by category. Card games Hearts card game Rules and strategy for the trick-taking game Hearts.

Sources

  1. Glossary of card game terms en.wikipedia.org Provides the definition and context for 'clear' in card games.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.