How to Play Spades
How to Play Spades
Spades is a team card game where you predict how many tricks you can win, then try to take exactly that many or more. You need a normal deck of cards, four players, and a place to keep score; if you need one, you can find a regular deck of playing cards from Playmore. This guide uses one common version of Spades, although house rules can vary.
Quick facts
| Fact | Rule |
|---|---|
| Players | 4 players in two fixed teams |
| Partners | Teammates sit opposite each other |
| Cards | Standard 52-card deck; 13 cards each |
| Trump suit | Spades always beat cards from other suits |
| Goal | Reach 500 points first |
What you are trying to do
Your team is trying to win at least the number of tricks that you and your partner bid. A trick is one card played by each player, with the strongest legal card winning all four cards. Before play begins, each player estimates how many tricks they expect to take. Your two bids are added together to make your team’s target for the hand.
For example, if you bid three and your partner bids four, your team must win at least seven tricks. You do not need to win the tricks in any particular order. You simply work toward the combined target while watching what the other team is trying to achieve.
What you need
Use a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. In every suit, cards rank from high to low as ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The four suits are spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. You also need paper and a pencil, or a notes app, for recording bids, tricks, bags, and running scores.
Choose two teams and have partners sit across from one another. Select the first dealer however you like. The deal moves clockwise after each hand.
Set it up
The dealer shuffles and gives one card at a time, face down, starting with the player on the dealer’s left. Continue around the table until every player has 13 cards. Players may arrange their hands by suit so they can see what they hold.
Before the first card is played, each player announces a bid from 1 to 13. A bid is the number of tricks that player expects to win. Bids do not have to increase, and nobody may pass. Add the partners’ bids together and write down both team targets. Some common versions include a bid of zero, called nil, but leave nil out of your first game if everyone is learning.
How to play
- Lead the first trick. The player to the dealer’s left plays any card except a spade. This first card starts the trick and establishes the lead suit, meaning the suit everyone must follow if possible.
- Follow the lead suit. Moving clockwise, each player plays one card. If you have a card in the suit that was led, you must play that suit. If you do not, you may play a spade or discard a card from another suit.
- Remember how winning works. If one or more spades are played, the highest spade wins the trick. Spades are the trump suit, so even a low spade can beat a high card in another suit. If no spade appears, the highest card in the lead suit wins.
- Keep spades from starting too soon. A player may not lead a spade until someone has already played a spade on an earlier trick, which is called breaking spades. The exception is when the player has only spades left and therefore has no other legal suit to lead.
- Lead the next trick. The player who won the trick gathers the four cards, places them in a personal or team pile, and leads any legal card to the next trick. Continue until all 13 tricks have been played.
- Count each team’s tricks. Compare the number won by each team with its combined bid. Check nil bids separately if your group is using them, because a nil bidder is promising to win no tricks.
How you win
After the hand, a team that reaches its bid scores 10 points for every trick bid, plus 1 point for each extra trick. So a team bidding seven and winning eight scores 71 points. Extra tricks are often called bags. When a team collects 10 bags over several hands, subtract 100 points from its score, then continue counting any leftover bags toward the next group of 10.
If a team fails to make its combined bid, subtract 10 points for each trick it bid. For instance, a team bidding seven but winning only six loses 70 points. The usual winning score is 500; the first team to reach or pass it wins. If both teams pass 500 in the same hand, the team with the higher score wins.
If you add nil bids later, a successful nil usually earns that player’s team a 100-point bonus, while a nil bidder who takes one or more tricks receives a 100-point penalty. A failed nil player’s tricks normally do not help the partner meet the partner’s bid, though they still count as bags. Agree on this detail before playing.
Easy first-game tips
Start by counting your cards in each suit. A long suit gives you more chances to follow suit, while a short suit may let you play a spade when that suit is led. High cards, especially aces and kings, are often useful, but do not automatically count every high card as a guaranteed trick. Another player may trump it, or the card may be played after a higher card in the same suit.
Keep track of the bids and notice which suits have already been played. If your partner is winning a trick, avoid taking it away with a higher card unless you need the trick for your team’s target. If your team is already close to its bid, be careful about collecting unnecessary bags. Most importantly, communicate through your card choices rather than talking about cards in your hand during the play.
Quick questions
Can I play any card if I do not have the suit led?
Yes. If you cannot follow suit, you may play a spade to try to win the trick or discard another suit. If you do have the lead suit, you must follow it.
Can spades be played on the first trick?
Usually not. Spades must first be broken by being played when another suit was led, unless a player has only spades left to lead.