How to Play Spades Card Game & Rules

Spades is one of the most popular card games of all time, a trick-taking game at heart, but somewhat unique in the sense that you play with with teams of two, four players in total. Reading through this guide, it can seem a little confusing at first with all the terms and ways of playing, but run a dummy hand as you read through and you’ll pick it up in no time at all.

As the name suggests, Spades is king and queen here, and this is a game filled with teamwork, strategy, and just the right amount of risk. It’s perfect for an evening of fun with friends, or even a tense one-on-one battle.

Think you’ve got the spades skills to win it all? Let’s dive in.

How to Play Spades Card Game

What You’ll Need to Play Spades

• Players: Four is ideal, split into two teams of two. (we’ll talk variations further down)
• Cards: Your trusty, standard 52-card deck will do.
• Partners in Crime: Find a friend who can match your strategic genius.
• A Touch of Ambition: Because let’s be honest, you’re not here to lose.

The Goal: Be the First to 500 Points!

Spades is all about winning tricks – the more tricks your team wins, the more points you score. But there’s a catch: you have to bid on how many tricks you THINK you’ll get. Bid too high? You might get penalized. Bid too low? You’re missing out on points.

It’s a delicate balance of confidence and cunning.

The Setup

Start the game by choosing your pairs and then sitting at the table or place of play. It’s important you sit opposite each other.

Choose a dealer at random (I like the method of everyone picking a card and the one with the highest value, Ace is 1, starts) and then you take it in turns dealing going clockwise.

The dealer then deals 13 cards to each player, hidden from other players.

Now, the strategy of this will become clear as we progress, but take a look at your cards. Do you see a lot of Spades (the trump suit), or a lot of high cards? The higher cards you have, the more chance you have of winning, and this will define how much you bid for.

The Art of Bidding

The bidding section is where the mind games begin. Starting from the dealer’s left, each player announces how many tricks they think they can win in total.

This can be anywhere from 0 to 13, but bear in mind 13 is the number of rounds, so claiming that would mean you’re planning on winning every hand.

Each player states how many they’ll win, but you can your teammate’s score will be added together to create a “contract.” Don’t worry, it literally just means your scores added together.

If you opt for Nil (zero tricks won), you’ll get bonus points if you were right and don’t win a single trick. However, if you win a trick, even a single one or more, you’ll give your team a 100-point penalty.

There’s also “Double nil” (also known “Blind Nil”).

Here, the player can call Double Nil, look at their cards and swap three with their partner. If you’re able to win zero tricks during this round, you’ll earn a 200-point bonus. If they win a single trick or more, they’ll receive a 200-point penalty.

In both Nil cases, both players in a team can call either Nil or Double Nil. Here, both players must succeed in their cases, but the rewards are doubled (Two successful Nils earns 200, and two successful Double Nils earns 400.

If both fail, they lose 200 and 400 points respectively, and if only ones loses then the partnership score for the round is 0 (the gain and the loss cancels itself out).

The Gameplay

Starting the round we start from the player to the dealer’s left who can play any card but a Spades. Go around the table clockwise, each playing matching the suit as closely as they can.

It’s the rules that if you have the same suit, you MUST play it.

If you can’t, then you can play another card. If you play a Spade, then you win because Spades is the trump suit. This is known as “breaking the Spades”, and now Spades can be played any time.

However, in every case, the highest value always wins.

Winning Tricks and Scoring

Once all players have played a card, usually the highest card wins. So, if four diamonds are played, the highest Diamond card wins. Ace is classed as highest.

If a Spade was played, the Spade wins, regardless of the number. A 2 of Spades would always beat an Ace of Diamonds. However, if two Spades were played, then the highest Spade value wins.

When all the cards are played, it’s time for scoring.

Add up how many tricks you won. A trick is worth 10 points, as long as you meet your initial bid. Every trick won over your bid is worth 1 point. These are extra points known as “bags“.

If you don’t meet your initial bid, you lose 10 points for every point under you were. For example, if you bid six and only score five, you’d lose 10 points. However, if you only scored one trick, you’d lose 50 points.

You then add your team’s score together and this is your team’s total for the round.

Sandbagging

When scoring bags (points over your initial bid total), be careful. Every time you score ten bags over the course of the entire game, you receive a 100-point penalty to your score. Score another 10 and that’s another 100 points off your total.

The Gameplay Continues

And that’s pretty much it!

After scoring, the dealer role moves to the player to the left and the game continues in the same fashion as the above. The game continues until a team reaches 500 points.

Spades Strategies and Tips

• First things first, never waste your Spades. Save them for when they can make a difference as a trump card. For example, if you empty one suit out your hand, you can win a really high value hand, even if another player played something like the Ace of Hearts, with just a Two of Clubs.
• Teamwork makes the dream work. Pay attention to your partner’s bids and plays. End of the day, you need to make sure they win, so you win. Don’t try and trump them every time. Sometimes, it can pay for you to lose a hand to them.
• Losing a trick can be really beneficial. For example, has someone called Nil and doesn’t want to win a trick? Playing a lower card than theirs may just cause them to pull when they don’t want to.

Ready for a Spades Showdown?

Now that you know the ropes, grab a deck of cards, find a partner, and get ready for a thrilling game of Spades! It’s more than just a card game, it’s a test of skill, strategy, and maybe a little bit of luck.