Spades strategy: better bids, safer nils and fewer bags

Most Spades hands are won or lost at the bid. A good bid is one your team can make without piling up bags, and good play is about taking exactly the tricks you need, helping your partner and stopping the other team from making theirs.

Count your tricks when you bid

Go through your hand suit by suit. Aces in clubs, diamonds and hearts are usually one trick each. A king is a good chance when you also hold the ace or at least one small card to protect it. A queen with no other high card rarely wins on its own.

Spades are where the extra tricks come from. The ace of spades is a sure trick, and each spade beyond three or four is close to a trick, because once the other players run out you can win with small ones. Short side suits help too: with no cards in a suit, you can trump it the first time it's led.

Then round. If you count three sure tricks and two maybes, bid 3 or 4, not 5. Missing the contract costs 10 per trick bid, while each extra trick is only a single bag.

Bid as a team

Your bid adds to your partner's. When your partner has already bid high, a cautious bid from you keeps the contract makeable. When the other team has bid most of the 13 tricks, the total bid round the table tells you how many spare tricks are out there, and so how many bags someone is going to take.

When to bid nil

A nil is worth 100 points, as much as a big contract, so it is worth looking for. Good nil hands have few high cards, few spades and low spades at that, and plenty of low cards in each suit. The ace or king of spades makes nil very risky, because you can't get rid of them safely.

Short suits help a nil too: once you are out of a suit, you can throw your dangerous high cards when it's led. Long suits of high cards hurt it, because sooner or later you have to play one under someone else's lead.

Covering your partner's nil

When your partner bids nil, your job changes. Bid a little higher to make up for the tricks they won't take, and try to win tricks where your partner might be forced to play high. Play high cards early in suits where your partner may be stuck, and lead suits your partner is likely to be short in so they can throw their dangerous cards.

Manage your bags

Every 10 bags cost 100 points, so a team that overshoots its bid every hand pays for it. Keep an eye on your bag count. When you are close to 10, give away tricks you don't need: play low under a trick your team has already won and take only what your contract requires.

Bags also work against the other team. If they are near a penalty and have already made their contract, letting them win extra tricks can push them over.

Set the other team

Stopping the other team from making their contract costs them 10 points per trick bid, often more than your own extra tricks would earn. When they have bid high, hold on to your winners and spades to take the tricks they're counting on. A failed contract earns them no bags either.

Play the hand

• Count spades. There are 13; once you know how many are gone, you know when your small spades will win.
• Lead your sure winners in side suits before the other players can trump them.
• Keep track of which suits each player has run out of, from the cards they throw.
• Don't trump your partner's winning trick unless you need the lead.
• Save a high spade for the end of the hand when you may need one more trick.

Common mistakes

• Counting every king and queen as a trick when you bid.
• Bidding nil while holding the ace or king of spades.
• Taking extra tricks out of habit when your team is close to 10 bags.
• Forgetting your partner's bid and playing for tricks the team doesn't need.
• Leading spades early and pulling your partner's trumps.

Before each card, ask how many tricks your team still needs. It's the quickest way to stop collecting bags by accident.