How to play Spades
Spades is a four-player card game played in two partnerships. Each player bids how many tricks they expect to win, and spades always beat the other suits. Make your team's bid to score points, and the first team to 500 wins.
Step by step
Sit with your partner
Four players form two teams. Partners sit opposite each other.
Deal 13 cards each
Deal the whole pack so everyone has 13 cards.
Bid your tricks
Each player says how many tricks they think they will win. Partners' bids are added together to make the team's contract.
Follow suit
Players take turns playing one card to each trick, and must follow the suit led if they can.
Spades are trumps
If you cannot follow suit, you may play a spade. The highest spade wins the trick.
Break spades before leading them
You cannot lead a spade until a spade has been played on an earlier trick, unless you only have spades.
Score your bid
Make your contract to score 10 points per trick bid. Fall short and you lose that amount. First team to 500 wins.
The full rules
What you need
Spades uses one standard pack of 52 cards. Four players form two teams, and partners sit opposite each other. In every suit, Ace is high and 2 is low.
Setting up
The dealer shuffles and deals all the cards, one at a time, so each player has 13. The deal passes to the left after each hand.
Bidding
Look at your cards and decide how many tricks you think you can win. Starting with the player on the dealer’s left, each player says their bid, from 0 to 13.
Partners’ bids are added together. That total is the team’s contract, the number of tricks the team must win together. For example, if you bid 4 and your partner bids 3, your team must win at least 7 tricks.
A bid of 0 is called nil. It is a special bid, explained below.
Playing the tricks
A trick is one card from each player, played in turn.
- The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick.
- Each player in turn must follow suit, playing a card of the suit that was led, if they can.
- If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card, including a spade.
- The trick is won by the highest spade played. If no spades were played, it is won by the highest card of the suit led.
- The winner of each trick leads the next one.
Breaking spades: you may not lead a spade until a spade has been played on an earlier trick, unless you have only spades left in your hand.
Scoring
At the end of each hand, each team counts the tricks it won.
- Made the contract: score 10 points for each trick bid, plus 1 point for each extra trick. Extra tricks are called bags.
- Missed the contract: lose 10 points for each trick bid.
- Bags: every time a team collects 10 bags in total over the game, it loses 100 points.
Nil bids: a player who bids nil is trying to win no tricks. If they succeed, their team scores 100 points. If they fail, their team loses 100 points. Their partner’s bid is scored on its own: any tricks the nil bidder wins do not count toward the partner’s bid, and they are not bags.
Winning
The first team to reach 500 points wins. Some groups also say a team loses if it falls to minus 200.
Common variants
There are many house rules. Some groups allow blind nil, a nil bid made before looking at your cards, worth 200 points; it is usually only allowed when your team is behind by 100 or more. Some use jokers as the highest trumps. Others insist that the first trick starts with the 2 of clubs. Some play to 250 or 300 points for a shorter game, and some play without nil bids, so every player must bid at least 1. Agree your rules before you deal.
Tips for beginners
- Count sure tricks. Aces and Kings in side suits, and high spades, are your most reliable tricks.
- Count your spades. Many spades usually means extra tricks, because you can trump other suits.
- Do not overbid. Missing your contract costs more than a few bags.
- Watch your bags. If your team is close to 10 bags, try not to win extra tricks.
- Help your partner. If your partner bids nil, try to win the tricks they might be forced to take.
Common questions
What is a nil bid in Spades?
Bidding nil means you promise to win no tricks at all. If you succeed, your team scores a 100-point bonus. If you take even one trick, your team loses 100 points. Your partner's bid is scored separately.
What are bags in Spades?
Bags, or overtricks, are tricks your team wins beyond its bid. Each one scores 1 point, but every 10 bags you collect costs your team 100 points.
Who leads first in Spades?
Usually the player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. Some groups require the 2 of clubs to be led first instead.
Can you lead spades at any time?
No. You may only lead a spade once spades have been broken, meaning a spade has been played on an earlier trick, or if you have nothing but spades.
What happens if both teams reach 500?
The team with the higher score wins. If the scores are tied, keep playing hands until one team is ahead.
Where it comes from
Spades is thought to have developed in the United States in the early twentieth century, as a member of the whist family of trick-taking games. It became especially popular in the United States, where it is often played at family gatherings, in colleges and in clubs. Many house rules exist, particularly for bidding and scoring.
