Spades rules: how to bid, play tricks and score

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, then tries to take at least that many without collecting too many extra. These are the rules our online game plays by, checked against the game itself.

Players, partners and the deal

Four players sit round the table, and the players opposite each other are partners: North and South play against East and West. The game uses one standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Aces are high, so each suit runs from the ace down to the 2.

Every hand, all 52 cards are dealt, so each player holds 13.

• Spades are always trump.
• Each player bids 0 to 13 tricks; partners' bids add up to the team contract.
• The 2 of clubs leads the first trick.
• Follow the suit led if you can.
• Spades can't be led until they are broken.
• Make your contract for 10 points per trick bid; every 10 bags cost 100 points.
• The first team to 500 points wins.

Bidding

After the deal, each player in turn bids the number of tricks they expect to take, from 0 to 13. There is no minimum and no need to outbid anyone. Your bid and your partner's are added together to make your team's contract. If you bid 3 and your partner bids 4, your team needs at least 7 of the 13 tricks.

A bid of 0 is called nil. It's a promise that you personally will take no tricks at all in that hand. Nil is scored on its own, separately from your partner's bid (see scoring below). Our game doesn't use blind nil, where a player bids nil before looking at their cards.

Playing the tricks

Once everyone has bid, the player holding the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick. Play goes round the table, and each player adds one card.

• If you have a card in the suit that was led, you must play one.
• If you have none of that suit, you can play any card, including a spade.
• If any spades were played, the highest spade wins the trick.
• If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. Cards of other suits can never win.
• Whoever wins the trick leads the next one.

The hand ends when all 13 tricks have been played. Each player's tricks are counted, and partners add theirs together.

Breaking spades

You can't lead a spade until spades are broken. Spades are broken the first time someone plays a spade on a trick because they couldn't follow the suit that was led. From then on, anyone can lead spades for the rest of the hand.

One exception: if your hand holds nothing but spades, you may lead one even before they are broken. In our game that lead doesn't break spades for everyone else.

Spades scoring: how to keep score

At the end of each hand, each team compares the tricks it took with its contract.

• Make the contract (take at least as many tricks as you bid together): score 10 points per trick bid.
• Each trick over the contract is a bag, worth 1 point.
• Miss the contract: lose 10 points per trick bid. A team that misses collects no bags.
• Nil made (the nil bidder took no tricks): +100 for the team.
• Nil missed (the nil bidder took one or more tricks): -100 for the team.

Tricks taken by a nil bidder still count toward the team's contract. If you bid 4, your partner bids nil and takes 2 tricks, and you take 3, your team took 5: the contract of 4 is made for 40 points plus 1 bag, and the failed nil costs 100, so the hand scores -59.

Bags

Bags carry over from hand to hand. When a team's running total reaches 10 bags, it loses 100 points and 10 bags are taken off its count. Any bags over 10 stay on the count toward the next penalty. The scoreboard shows each team's bags so you can see a penalty coming.

Winning the game

Hands are dealt and played until a team reaches 500 points. If both teams pass 500 in the same hand, the higher score wins. If they are tied, play goes on to another hand.

Moves that are not allowed

• Leading anything but the 2 of clubs to the first trick.
• Playing a different suit when you hold a card of the suit led.
• Leading a spade before spades are broken while you still hold other suits.
• Bidding more than 13 tricks.