How to play Spades
Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships. It is played with a standard 52-card deck, spades are always trump, and each team bids how many tricks it will take. It’s easy to learn in one hand and takes years to master. You can play Spades online free against the computer while you read.
Players and cards
- Four players in two teams. Partners sit across from each other, so play alternates between the teams.
- A standard 52-card deck, no jokers. Aces are high: A, K, Q, J, 10 … 2.
- Spades are always trump. Any spade beats any card of another suit.
The deal
The dealer shuffles and deals all 52 cards one at a time, so every player gets 13. The deal passes to the left after each hand. The player to the dealer’s left bids first and leads the first trick.
Bidding
Look at your hand and estimate how many tricks you will win. Starting left of the dealer, each player bids once, from 1 to 13, or nil (zero). There is no auction: nobody has to bid higher than the last player.
Your team’s bid, the contract, is the two partners’ bids added together. To count a hand:
- Count each ace as one trick, and a king with at least one other card of its suit as most of one.
- Count the ace, king and queen of spades, plus one trick for every spade beyond your third.
- A suit you have none of (a void) or only one card of (a singleton) lets you trump early, if you have spades to spare.
Example: ♠ A 9 6 4 3, ♥ K 7, ♦ A Q 5 2, ♣ 8 3. Count the ace of spades (1), two extra spades (2), the ace of diamonds (1) and the guarded king of hearts (about 1): a bid of 4 or 5.
Nil
A nil bid says you will take no tricks at all. If you succeed, your team scores 100 points; if you take even one trick, your team loses 100. Your partner’s bid is scored separately. Nil works best with few spades, no high spades, and low cards in every suit. When your partner bids nil, play high and try to win the tricks they can’t avoid.
Some tables also allow blind nil: bidding nil before looking at your cards, for 200 points or a 200-point loss. It is usually only allowed when a team is behind by 100 or more.
Playing a hand
- The player left of the dealer leads any card except a spade.
- Each player in turn, going left, plays one card. You must follow the suit that was led if you can.
- If you can’t follow suit, play any card: a spade to trump, or a card from another suit to throw it away.
- The highest spade wins the trick. If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- Whoever wins the trick leads the next one. A hand is 13 tricks.
Breaking spades
You can’t lead a spade until spades are broken, meaning someone has played a spade on a trick of another suit because they couldn’t follow. The one exception is a player who has nothing but spades left.
Scoring
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Team takes at least its contract | +10 per trick bid |
| Each overtrick (bag) | +1 |
| Team takes fewer tricks than its contract (set) | −10 per trick bid |
| Every 10 bags collected | −100 |
| Nil made | +100 |
| Nil failed | −100 |
Example: you bid 3 and your partner bids 4, so the contract is 7. You take 4 tricks and your partner takes 4: 8 in total. The team scores 70 + 1 bag = 71. If you had taken only 6 between you, you would lose 70.
Tricks taken by a player who bid nil don’t count toward the partner’s bid. They do count as bags. See every case worked out on the Spades scoring page.
Winning the game
The first team to reach 500 points wins. If both teams pass 500 in the same hand, the higher score wins; if the scores are tied, play another hand. Many groups also say a team that falls to −200 loses. Shorter games to 250 or 300 are common online.
Common house rules
- Jokers: two jokers are added as the highest spades, and the 2 of hearts and 2 of diamonds are removed.
- Minimum team bid: some tables require a contract of at least 4.
- No bag penalty: overtricks score 1 point each, with no 100-point penalty.
- Cutthroat Spades: three players, each on their own.
Questions
Can you lead spades at the start of a hand?
No. Spades can't be led until a spade has been played on another suit (spades are “broken”), unless the player on lead has nothing but spades.
What happens if you can't follow suit?
You can play any card. A spade wins the trick unless someone plays a higher spade; any other card can't win.
What is a bag in Spades?
Every trick a team takes beyond its bid is a bag, worth 1 point. When a team collects 10 bags it loses 100 points and the count starts again.
What does nil mean in Spades?
Bidding nil means you promise to take no tricks at all. Make it and your team scores 100; take even one trick and your team loses 100. Your partner's bid is scored separately.
How many points do you play to?
Usually 500. Shorter games go to 250 or 300. Many groups also end the game when a team falls to −200.