How to Play

Spades is a 4-player partnership trick-taking game where spades are always the trump suit. Partners sum their bids into a team contract, earn 10 points per trick bid, and are penalised for missing their bid. The distinctive 'nil' bid (claiming zero tricks) is worth +100 on success and -100 on failure. Games typically run to 500 points, and stockpiled overtricks (bags) trigger a 100-point penalty.

Spades is a 4-player partnership trick-taking game in which spades are ALWAYS the trump suit. Before play, each player declares how many of the 13 tricks they expect to take; partners' bids add to a team total. The partnership that matches its combined bid scores 10 points per trick bid; overtricks (bags) carry to the next hand and eventually trigger a 100-point penalty, so padding your bid is risky. The signature move is the 'nil' bid: declaring you will take no tricks at all for a 100-point bonus. Games run to 500 points (sometimes 300 or 1000); the side with the higher score wins.

Players

Exactly 4 players in 2 fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite. It also scales to 2 players (the 'cutthroat' version; each bids for themselves and draws 13 cards from a mini-deal) and 3 players (3-handed Spades removes the 2♣ to give each player 17 cards). The 4-player partnership form is by far the dominant one. A single hand takes about 10-15 minutes; a full match to 500 typically runs 45-75 minutes. Turn order is clockwise; the first dealer is chosen by cutting for high card, and the deal then rotates clockwise.

Card Deck

• Standard 52-card pack; no jokers in the base game (some variants add two).
• Rank order: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low).A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
• Spades are ALWAYS trump. Any spade played on a non-spade trick beats the highest non-spade in that trick.
• The ranking of trumps is the same as other suits: is the highest card in the deck; is the lowest trump but still beats any non-spade in off-suit tricks.A♠2♠
• In common Joker-added variants (see Variations), the 'big joker' and 'little joker' replace the 2 of clubs and 2 of hearts as super-trumps.2♣2♥

Objective

Each hand, your partnership bids the total number of tricks you will win (the sum of both partners' bids). The partnership scores 10 points per trick bid if you meet your bid, plus 1 'bag' per overtrick; 10 accumulated bags across the match triggers a 100-point penalty. Failing your bid costs 10 points per trick bid. The first partnership to reach the agreed target (500 points by default) wins the match.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck. Deal all 52 cards clockwise, one at a time, so each player holds exactly 13 cards.
2. Partners sit opposite each other at the table. Agree the target score (500 standard; 300 short; 1000 long) before the first hand.
3. The player to the dealer's left bids first; bidding proceeds clockwise ending with the dealer.
4. After every hand, shuffle and the deal rotates one seat clockwise.
5. Write both team scores on a score sheet with separate columns for points and bags; bags travel with the team across hands.

Bidding

1. Starting with the player left of the dealer and proceeding clockwise, each player announces how many tricks they will take (0 through 13). Each player bids ONCE; there is no subsequent raise or double-call.
2. Combine partners' bids. Your partnership's contract is the SUM of the two partners' bids. Example: you bid 4, partner bids 3 → team contract is 7.
3. Minimum combined bid: in most house rules, a partnership's combined bid must be at least 4; some stricter tables require 5 or more.
4. Nil (zero): any player may bid 0 ('nil'). The nil bid is scored SEPARATELY from the partner's bid; nil is worth +100 if the nil bidder wins zero tricks, or -100 if they win any trick. The partner's bid is tracked independently.
5. Blind nil: before seeing their hand (and only when their team is BEHIND by 100+ points), a player may declare 'blind nil' for a +200 / -200 bonus/penalty. Some tables forbid blind nil entirely.
6. Double nil (both partners nil): permitted but requires careful play since neither partner can legally protect the other from winning a stray trick.

Gameplay

1. The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. They may lead any suit EXCEPT spades (spades cannot be led until they have been 'broken').
2. Follow suit if possible. Each player in clockwise order must play a card of the suit led if they hold one. If they cannot, they may play any card, including a spade.
3. Breaking spades: spades become legal to lead ONLY after a spade has been played on an earlier trick (as trump over a non-spade lead). If a player has no cards except spades, they may lead a spade even before spades are broken.
4. Winning the trick: the highest spade played wins the trick. If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit LED wins. The trick winner gathers the four cards face-down and leads the next trick.
5. Compulsion to follow suit: you MUST play a card of the led suit if you hold one; failing to do so (a renege) forfeits the hand to the opponents, who score as though they made their bid plus 50 penalty points on the reneging team.
6. Thirteen tricks are played out every hand; every card must be played.

Scoring

1. Made bid: if the team's total tricks >= combined bid, score 10 points per trick bid. Example: bid 7, took 8 → 70 points + 1 bag.
2. Overtricks (bags): each trick above the bid is 1 bag = 1 point immediately, but bags accumulate against your team. On reaching 10 bags, the team loses 100 points and the bag counter resets to 0. Deliberate underbidding to avoid bags is called 'sandbagging' and is punished by this rule.
3. Failed bid: if the team takes fewer tricks than their combined bid, score -10 points per trick bid. Example: bid 8, took 5 → -80 points. No bags awarded.
4. Nil bid scoring: successful nil = +100 for the partnership; failed nil = -100. The partner's individual bid is scored separately: the partner's tricks are still counted toward their own bid and the nil bidder's tricks (if any) count as overtricks/bags for the partnership, but if nil failed, those tricks don't count toward the partner's contract.
5. Blind nil: +200 if successful, -200 if failed; scored as a separate line.
6. Match end: first team to reach the target (500 by default) wins. If both teams cross the target in the same hand, the higher score wins; if tied, play one more hand as sudden death.

Winning

The match ends at the close of any hand in which at least one partnership's running total reaches or passes the target score (traditionally 500, but 300 for a short game and 1000 for a long tournament are also common). The team with the higher total wins. If both teams reach the target in the same hand, the higher score wins; if tied exactly, play additional hands until the tie breaks. The loser's score is often negative by the end of a rough game, since failed bids and bag penalties stack up.

Common Variations

• Jokers (Big & Little): add the two jokers; the big joker (coloured) is the highest trump and the little joker (black-and-white) the second-highest. Remove the 2♣ and 2♥ to keep the deck at 52. Popular in the American South.2♣2♥
• Suicide (Forced Nil): exactly one partner on each team MUST bid nil every hand. Each team picks who each hand.
• Mirror (Mirrors) Spades: players do not bid; each must take exactly the number of spades dealt to them. Removes bidding entirely.
• Whiz: each player must bid either nil OR the exact number of spades they hold.
• Partner Cover: a partner may play a high card from their own hand to 'cover' a nil bidder's risky position. Changes the dynamic of nil play.
• Double nil (Double Blind): both partners may bid blind nil together; +400 if both succeed, -400 if either fails.
• Individual Spades (Cutthroat): 3 or 4 players, no partnerships; each player bids and scores for themselves.
• Bid Four (Minimum Bid): the combined partnership bid must be AT LEAST 4; prevents deliberate under-bidding.
• Ace-of-Spades Lead: some tables force the player holding the A♠ to lead the first trick (rather than the player left of the dealer).A♠
• Solid 10: overtricks are simply worth 1 each with no bag penalty; reduces strategic tension but speeds up play.

Tips and Strategy

• Count your winners carefully before bidding. The A♠ and K♠ are near-certain trumps; Q♠ is usually good. In side suits, only the Ace is a guaranteed winner; Kings often fall to a trump.A♠K♠Q♠
• Long suits become winners when voided. If you hold 4-5 cards of a side suit with a high card, you can void yourself and then cash the low cards for tricks late in the hand.
• Nil is an 8-card hand without high cards. Bid nil only if you have NO Ace (except perhaps a singleton that can be dumped), no high trumps, and no singleton in a suit your partner is long in.
• Sandbagging kills teams. If your team has 8+ bags, do not bid low; you are better off bidding accurately and risking failure than taking random overtricks and losing 100 points.
• Cover your nil partner. When your partner bids nil, play high on their tricks and try to take any trick they cannot duck; their nil bid + your normal bid is your team's contract.
• Track the spades. After the hand, 13 spades have been played. Keep a rough count of high spades to judge whether your lead will win. Top club or heart leads become key in the final 3-4 tricks.
• First spade discards signal. When someone dumps a spade on a non-spade trick, you learn they are void in that suit; remember it.

Glossary

• Trick: a single round of one card per player; 13 tricks per hand.
• Trump: a suit that beats all other suits; in Spades, always the spade suit.
• Bid: the number of tricks a player or partnership claims they will take.
• Combined bid / contract: the sum of both partners' bids.
• Nil: a bid of 0 for a 100-point bonus if successful, 100-point penalty if failed.
• Blind nil: nil bid made before looking at your cards; +200 / -200, usually restricted to teams behind by 100+ points.
• Bag / overtrick: a trick taken above the contract; scores 1 point immediately but accumulates toward a 100-point penalty at 10 bags.
• Sandbagging: deliberately under-bidding to stockpile bags; punished by the 10-bag rule.
• Breaking spades: the moment a spade is first played during a hand; until then, spades may not be LED.
• Renege: failing to follow suit when you held the suit led; a rules violation that usually forfeits the hand.
• Void: holding no cards of a given suit.
• Cover: playing a high card on a partner's risky trick to protect them (especially when partner is on a nil bid).
• Cutthroat Spades: the no-partnership variant for 2 or 3 players.