Learning how to play spades takes one practice hand, and then it becomes the kind of game families play for years. Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships. Spades are always trump, each team bids how many tricks it will take, and points come from meeting that bid exactly or close to it. Below you will find the standard spades rules, the scoring for bids, nil and bags, and simple versions for two and three players.
Quick rules
- Four players, partners sit opposite. Deal all 52 cards, 13 each.
- Each player bids how many tricks they expect to win. Partners add their bids into a team contract.
- Follow suit if you can. If you cannot, you may play any card, including a spade.
- Spades are always trump, but you cannot lead a spade until spades are broken.
- Make your bid to score 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 point for each extra trick (a bag).
- Miss your bid and lose 10 points per trick bid. Ten bags cost 100 points.
- First team to 500 points wins.
What you need
- A standard 52-card deck with jokers removed. Aces are high, 2s are low.
- Pen and paper, or our scoreboard, to track each team's score and bags.
Setup
- Form two teams of two. Partners sit across the table from each other. Use our team generator to pick partners fairly.
- Draw cards to choose the first dealer. High card deals. The deal passes to the left each hand.
- The dealer shuffles and deals all 52 cards one at a time, face down, so each player has 13.
How to play
Bidding
- Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player bids once, from 0 to 13, the number of tricks they expect to win.
- A bid of 0 is called nil. The nil bidder is trying to win no tricks at all, while their partner plays their own bid normally.
- A player may bid blind nil before looking at their cards. This is worth double and is usually allowed only when a team is behind by 100 points or more.
- Write down the team contract: the two partners' bids added together (a nil bid counts separately).
Playing the tricks
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. They may lead any suit except spades.
- Each player in turn, going left, plays one card. You must follow the suit led if you can.
- If you have no card of the suit led, you may play any card. Playing a spade here is called trumping or cutting.
- The highest spade wins the trick. If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- The winner of a trick leads the next one. Spades may not be led until a spade has been played on an earlier trick (spades are broken), unless the leader holds nothing but spades.
- Keep won tricks stacked in front of one partner so they are easy to count. Play continues until all 13 tricks are played.
Scoring
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Team makes its contract | +10 per trick bid |
| Each trick over the contract (bag or overtrick) | +1 each |
| Team misses its contract (set) | -10 per trick bid |
| Every 10 bags collected over the game | -100 |
| Nil bid succeeds | +100 |
| Nil bid fails | -100 |
| Blind nil succeeds | +200 |
| Blind nil fails | -200 |
Example: your team bids 5 and 3, a contract of 8. You win 10 tricks, so you score 80 plus 2 bags, 82 in total. If you win only 7 tricks, you lose 80. When a player bids nil, the nil is scored on its own and the partner's bid is scored separately; tricks taken by a failed nil bidder usually do not count toward the partner's bid. Some groups play to 300 or 250 points for a shorter game, and some count bag penalties at 5 bags instead of 10.
How to win
The first team to reach 500 points at the end of a hand wins. If both teams pass 500 on the same hand, the higher score wins. Many groups also agree that a team falling to minus 200 loses straight away.
How to play spades with 2 or 3 people
Two players
Do not deal. Place the deck face down. On your turn, draw the top card and decide whether to keep it. If you keep it, look at the next card and discard it face down. If you do not want the first card, discard it face down and keep the next card instead. Take turns until the deck is gone and each player holds 13 cards. Then bid and play as usual, with no partner. Score each player separately with the same table.
Three players
Remove the 2 of clubs (or deal it to nobody), leaving 51 cards, and deal 17 to each player. Everyone plays alone, bids individually and scores individually. Some groups keep all 52 cards and give the extra card to whoever wins the first trick.
Variations
- Jokers as high trumps: add both jokers as the two highest spades and remove the 2 of hearts and 2 of diamonds. Many groups also make the 2 of spades the third highest spade.
- Board minimum: each team must bid at least 4 tricks between them.
- No nil: beginners often drop nil and blind nil until everyone is comfortable.
- Spades can be led any time: a relaxed house rule for kids.
Tips and strategy
- Count sure tricks when bidding: aces, protected kings (king with one other card of that suit) and high spades. Add one for a long spade suit.
- Talk to your partner only through your bids and cards. Table talk about your hand is not allowed.
- Protect a partner's nil. Win tricks with high cards so your partner can drop their high cards safely.
- Watch the bag count. Late in a game, it can be better to set the other team than to pick up extra bags.
- Run short suits early. Emptying a side suit lets you trump that suit later.
Common mistakes
- Leading a spade before spades are broken.
- Forgetting to follow suit, called reneging. The usual penalty is losing three tricks to the other team.
- Overbidding because of a long but weak spade suit. Low spades rarely win tricks unless you can trump with them.
Enjoy trick-taking games? Try hearts, euchre, Oh Hell or the classic bridge.
Questions people ask
How do you play spades with partners?
Partners sit opposite each other and each bids the tricks they expect to win. The two bids are added into one team contract. Partners then play together to win at least that many tricks, and score 10 points per trick bid if they succeed.
How does spades scoring work?
A team that makes its contract scores 10 points per trick bid plus 1 point per extra trick, called a bag. A team that falls short loses 10 points per trick bid. Every 10 bags costs 100 points, and a nil bid is worth 100 points if made or minus 100 if missed.
How do you play spades with 2 people?
Players draw from the deck in turn, keeping or discarding each card, until both hold 13 cards. Then each player bids and plays as an individual, with the usual rules for following suit and spades as trump. Score each player with the same table used in the partnership game.
How do you play spades with 3 people?
Remove one card, usually the 2 of clubs, and deal 17 cards to each player. Each person bids and scores alone. The rest of the rules, including spades breaking and bag penalties, stay the same.
Can you lead with a spade in the card game spades?
Not until spades are broken, which means a spade has already been played on an earlier trick because someone could not follow suit. The one exception is a player who holds only spades, who may lead one at any time.