How to Play Spades
Spades is a beloved partnership trick-taking card game where spades are always trump. Team up with an AI partner and use strategic bidding, careful card counting, and clever trump management to outscore your opponents. First team to 500 points wins!
📋 Rules
Teams & Setup
Four players form two teams: You partner with North against East and West. Each player is dealt 13 cards from a standard 52-card deck.
Bidding
Before each round, every player bids how many tricks they expect to win (1-13). A bid of 0 is called Nil — you are betting you will not take a single trick. Your team bid is your target.
Playing Tricks
The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. Players must follow the led suit if possible. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card — including a spade to trump the trick.
Trump Suit
Spades are always trump, meaning any spade beats any non-spade card. If multiple spades are played, the highest spade wins. Spades cannot be led until they have been broken (played on a previous trick).
Scoring
If your team takes at least as many tricks as your combined bid, you score 10 points per bid trick plus 1 point per overtrick (bag). If you fail, you lose 10 points per bid trick. Nil bids score +100 if successful or -100 if you take any trick.
Sandbagging
Overtricks (bags) accumulate across rounds. When your team reaches 10 bags, you lose 100 points and the bag counter resets. Avoid overbidding!
🧠 Strategy Tips
- Count your high cards and spades carefully when bidding — Aces and Kings of side suits are usually worth one trick each.
- Try to create voids by leading your short suits early, so you can trump in later.
- Cover your partner when they are winning the trick — play low cards and save your high cards.
- Track which spades have been played. Knowing what trumps remain gives you a huge advantage.
- Avoid sandbagging — going over your bid repeatedly leads to the -100 penalty at 10 bags.
- If your partner bids Nil, lead your highest cards to pull out dangerous plays from opponents and protect them.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How does Nil bidding work?
A Nil bid means you bet you will not take any tricks. If successful, your team gets +100 points. If you take even one trick, your team loses 100 points. Your partner bid and tricks are scored separately.
When can I lead spades?
Spades can only be led after they have been broken — meaning someone played a spade on a previous trick because they were void in the led suit. The exception is if your hand contains only spades.
How does the game end?
The game ends when any team reaches 500 or more points (they win) or drops to -200 or below (they lose). If both teams reach 500 in the same round, the higher score wins.