Spades is a strategic, trick-taking card game. Correctly predict the amount of tricks you will take each round in order to score the most points!
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play four player spades, followed by two player spades, below.
Four Player Spades Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck; four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Deal
Each player is dealt 13 cards, one card at a time.
Objective
Be the first team to score 500 points. Points are scored by taking, at least, the amount of tricks bid by your team.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest - Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Spades outrank all other suited cards.
Bidding
Starting with the player left of the dealer, each player will bid how many tricks he/she will win during the round.
Game Play
The player left of the dealer leads the first card for the first trick. Each player is required to play a card in the same suit of the lead card whenever possible. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, the player can play any card.
The winner of the trick is the player with the highest ranking spade. If no spade was played, the winner is the player with the highest ranking card in the lead suit. The winner of the trick will lead the next trick.
A trick cannot be lead with a spade suited card unless a player has only spade suited cards left, or spades have been broken. Spades are broken when a player cannot follow the lead suit and plays a spade onto a trick.
Scoring
When a team combines to win the amount of tricks bid or more, the team is awarded ten times their bid plus one additional point for each extra trick won over their bid. For example, if a team bids five tricks and wins six tricks, they are awarded 51 points (5 x 10 + 1 = 51).
If a team wins fewer tricks than bid, their score goes down ten times the amount bid. Each individual player is not required to win the amount of tricks initially bid. A team combines their tricks won during the round to compare against their combined amount bid.
Each additional trick won over a team’s combined bids is referred to as a sandbag. Every time a team gets to 10 sandbags during the game, 100 points are taken from their score.
Nil Bid
If a player bids zero tricks and takes zero tricks during the round, it is worth 100 points. If a player takes one or more tricks on a nil bid, it is negative 100 points. A nil bid is separate from the other player’s bid on the team. For example, a player from a team bids nil, and the other player bids 4. Here are the possible scenarios:
The nil bidder takes zero tricks, and the other player takes 4 tricks = 140 points (100 + 4 x 10)
The nil bidder takes zero tricks, and the other player takes 3 tricks = 60 points (100 – 4 x 10)
The nil bidder takes 1 trick and the other player takes 4 tricks = -59 points (-100 + 1 + 4 x 10). This results in the team having 1 sandbag.
Blind Nil Bid
A player can bid nil without looking at his/her hand. The effect is the same as a nil bid, but now has a value of 200 points.
Two Player Spades Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck; two players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Setup
A shuffled deck is placed between the two players. Players build their hands by drawing cards from the deck. The first card a player draws can be kept or discarded. The same player will draw the next card too. If the player kept the first card drawn, the second card is looked at but has to be discarded. If the first card was discarded, the second card drawn has to be kept.
Objective
Be the first player to score 500 points. Points are scored by taking, at least, the amount of tricks you bid.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest - Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Spades outrank all other suited cards.
Bidding
The player that did not shuffle the deck will bid first. Each player will bid how many tricks he/she will win during the round.
Game Play
The player that bid first leads the first card for the first trick. Each player is required to play a card in the same suit of the lead card whenever possible. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, the player can play any card.
The winner of the trick is the player with the highest ranking spade. If no spade was played, the winner is the player with the highest ranking card in the lead suit. The winner of the trick will lead the next trick.
A trick cannot be lead with a spade suited card unless a player has only spade suited cards left or spades have been broken. Spades are broken when a player cannot follow the lead suit and plays a spade onto the trick.
Score
When a player wins the amount of tricks bid or more, he/she is awarded ten times the amount bid plus one additional point for each extra trick won over the bid. For example, if a player bids five tricks and wins six tricks, he/she is awarded 51 points (5 x 10 + 1 = 51). If a player wins fewer tricks than bid, his/her score goes down ten times the amount bid.
Each additional trick won over a player’s bid is referred to as a sandbag. Every time a player gets to 10 sandbags during the game, 100 points are taken from his/her score.
Nil Bid
If a player bids zero tricks and takes zero tricks during the round, it is worth 100 points. If a player takes one or more tricks on a nil bid, it is negative 100 points.