Spades

1 Overview

Spades is a classic American trick-taking card game played in teams of two. Partners sit across from each other and combine their bids. Each round, players bid how many tricks they think they'll win, then play out the hand. Hit your bid and score big; miss it and get penalized. Spades are always the trump suit.

2 What You Need

• 1 standard deck of 52 cards (no jokers)
• Score pad
• Pencil

3 Setup

1. Four players split into two teams. Partners sit across from each other.
2. Deal all 52 cards, 13 per player.
3. Players sort their hands. Bidding begins.

4 How to Play

Bidding

Starting left of the dealer, each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win (0-13). No communication with your partner. Your team's bid is the sum of both partners' bids. A bid of zero is called a "Nil" - worth 100 points if successful, -100 if not (you must take zero tricks).

Playing Tricks

The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick (cannot lead spades until spades have been "broken" - a spade played on a previous trick). Players must follow suit if they can. If they can't follow suit, they may play any card including a spade. The highest card of the led suit wins unless a spade was played - the highest spade wins.

The winner of each trick leads the next.

Scoring

• Meet your team bid exactly: 10 points per trick bid
• Take more tricks than bid (overtricks/"bags"): +1 point each, but every 10 bags = -100 points
• Miss your bid: -10 points per trick bid
• Nil: +100 if the Nil bidder takes zero tricks; -100 if they take any

5 Winning

First team to reach 500 points wins. If both teams hit 500 in the same round, the higher score wins. Teams that reach -200 points lose immediately in some variants.

6 Strategy Tips

• Count your high cards carefully. Aces and Kings will almost always win tricks. Spades you hold are likely to win too - especially high ones.
• Bid conservatively. Overtricks (bags) hurt you in the long run. Better to underbid slightly and safely make your contract.
• Break spades strategically. Playing a spade when you can't follow suit breaks spades for everyone. Do it when you want to use your trump power.
• Watch partner's signals. If partner bid 3 and you know you're winning 4, you're safe. Track the tricks being won.
• Nil is high risk, high reward. Only bid Nil with a very weak hand (few high cards, few spades). Your partner needs to actively help you avoid taking tricks.