How to Play the Strategies of Spades

A basic strategy guide for beginners with tips for more advanced play.

Things You'll Need

• A standard deck of playing cards
• Paper and pencil

Instructions

1. Divide four people into two teams of two, and sit down at a table with each teammate opposite (not next to) the other.

2. Decide on the rules. Because the "house rules" of Spades vary widely, it's always best to go through them each time you play with new people. For example:

   *Will you use 2s as the high trump, or will you use Jokers?
   *If using Jokers, does the big Joker draw (see step 6)? *Will you allow blind bids?
   *How are overbooks (also known as "bags") scored?
   *What is the lowest number of books a team can bid?
   *Can a player bid "nil" (declare that they will win no books at all), and what is it worth?
   *What score are you playing to?
   *What is the penalty for reneging (trumping a suited card when you still have cards of that suit in your hand)?
   *How much cross talk (discussing with your partner) is allowed?

   If you don't work everything out ahead of time, you WILL run into disputes later.

3. Deal the cards. 52 cards split 4 ways means each player has 13 cards, so there are 13 hands in each round.

4. Once the cards are dealt, each team decides how many hands ("books" or "tricks") they think they can win.

   For beginners, it's best to count wins in two ways: Aces and spades.

   Aces: First, check to make sure you have at least one or two of each suit, and pay attention to the other players' reactions to their cards to try to see if anyone else is short-suited. An Ace of diamonds is very likely to win one book, unless someone has no diamonds to begin with (in which case they can trump your Ace with a spade). Usually, though, an Ace is a win. Lead with your Aces as soon as possible, to avoid giving anyone the chance to run out of that suit.

   Spades: There are two basic variations on the use of spades; which one you will be using should be decided in step 2. The first is to use all of the twos, with the 2 of hearts as the highest "spade", the 2 of clubs second-highest, then the 2 of diamonds, then the 2 of spades, then back to normal with the Ace of spades on down, with the 3 as the lowest. If using this method, go to step 5.

   The second, more advanced, variation is to remove two of the 2s and use the Jokers (one marked "big" and one marked "little"). The Jokers are then the highest of all the "spades", with the additional catch that if the big Joker leads a hand, both of the players on the opposing team must throw out their highest remaining spade. If using this method, go to step 6.

5. When bidding, count any 2 you have as a win, as well as the Ace, King, and Queen. Beyond that, lower spades are most useful if you can use them to trump cards of other suits. For example, if you only have one or two clubs, you may be able to win a hand with just a 3 of spades. Counting those lower spades can be risky, though, and since it's almost always better to go over your bid than under it, it's usually best not to count them.

   Skip to step 7.

6. For purposes of bidding, count the big joker as a win. If you have both big and little, count that as three wins (because you will draw good cards away from your opponents). If you have only have the little joker, try to figure out if your partner has the big one. If he does, you can count yours as a win. If he doesn't, you may end up losing the little joker when the other team leads with the big. If you like to be bold, you can count it as a win and hope for the best. The Ace, King, and Queen of spades will often win a hand as well. Beyond that, lower spades are most useful if you can use them to trump cards of other suits. For instance, if you only have one or two clubs, you may be able to win a hand with the 3 of spades. Counting those lower spades can be risky, though, and since it's almost always better to go over your bid than under it, it's usually best not to count them. If you're feeling bold, bid one book for every two or three low spades in your hand.

7. Once you've counted up the number of books you think you can take, talk to your partner and come to an agreement on how many (out of 13) you will be able to win as a team. Keep in mind that some of your wins may cancel out some of his wins, and vice-versa. Also keep in mind that, sometimes, a card you didn't expect to win (the ten of clubs, for example) will somehow win a hand; don't count this as a win, but think of it as insurance when bidding aggressively.

   An average hand, with both teams reasonably balanced, will usually result in one team bidding 7 and one team bidding 6. To play it safe, sometimes the bids might add up to less than 13 (for example, both teams bid 6). This leaves room for mistakes without anyone losing their bid. On the other hand, sometimes the bids might add up to more than 13, which means one of the teams will fail to make their bid. Remember that it's always better to get more books than you bid (i.e. you bid 6 but get 8) than to fail to win enough (called getting "set"), so it's usually best to bid conservatively at first.

8. One strategy during the bidding stage is to intentionally bid much lower than you think you should, to give the other team a false sense of hope. If the other team believes you have bad cards, they might bid too aggressively, and you can set them. Bidding low brings overbooks as a penalty, though, so only do that when you can afford to. Ten overbooks usually results in a loss of 100 points from your team's score.

9. When the bidding is over, the round begins. The player to the left of the dealer leads. We'll assume that's you. Lead with an Ace if you have one (except the Ace of spades; remember, nobody can lead with a spade until a spade has been used to trump another suit). If you don't have an Ace, lead with a low card, to draw out the Ace that's out there. It might be your partner's. If not, and the other team wins it, don't panic; there are plenty more hands to come, and at least now you know there's one less Ace.

   If you have an Ace AND a King of the same suit, lead with the King. If nobody trumps you, you can play the Ace the next hand. If you do get trumped, the whereabouts of the Ace will still be uncertain (it will be assumed to be you, but the other players won't know for sure). Keeping the other team uncertain is always good.

10. During play, try not to "step on" your partner's hand. If your partner leads with a King of diamonds and you have the Ace, you know the other team can't beat him so there's usually no need for you to beat him, either. Play the lowest diamond you have in your hand. Of course, it could be that the lowest diamond you have in your hand IS the Ace; if you step on your partner, it will usually signal to the group that you had no choice and you are now out of that suit.

11. By the same token, if you have no diamonds and your partner is winning the hand with a high diamond, try not to trump him with a spade. If the other team still has diamonds, your partner will win the hand. If the other team is out of diamonds, your throwing a spade only means that the player to your left might be able to throw a higher spade, and you will have wasted yours. However, there are two good reasons to step on your partner.

12. Since the person who wins the book leads the next hand, one reason to step on your partner is when it's important for you to lead the next hand. It could be because you sense he is low on quality cards, or because you have Aces you need to play before the suits run out. Stepping on your partner is sometimes the only way to take the lead.

    Another reason to step on your partner is to "break spades". Once spades have been broken (in other words, once a spade has been used to trump another suit), you can lead with a spade. This can be a way to ensure you get to lead with the big Joker so you can draw the other team's good cards. If you get stuck playing the big Joker in the middle of the hand, it will win the hand but the other team won't waste as many good spades. Spades will usually be broken before the need arises for you to step on your partner, though, so wait for a better opportunity if possible.

13. Once spades are broken, remember who broke them and what suit he is out of. If it's the player to your left, try to avoid leading with that suit, since you know he can trump whatever card you play. If it's the player to your right, do your best to get rid of your remaining cards in that suit, so you'll be able to beat any spade he plays with a higher spade the next time around. If it's your partner who broke spades, keep that in mind. For instance, if you know your partner has no hearts left, and at some point the player to your right leads with a heart, you know you don't need to beat him because your partner can take the trick with a spade when it gets to him.

14. Some players like to hold their highest spades until the very end, to bring out the big guns at the last minute. When using the big and little Joker, it's often best to play the Big Joker as soon as possible, to keep your opponents from winning hands with their biggest spades.

15. As the hand begins to wind down, take a look at the number of books you've won. Will you be able to meet your bid? Will you be able to set your opponents? If you've met your bid but think you might be able to set your opponents, continue playing to win. If you can set your opponents, it's usually worth however many overbooks you might receive as a penalty.

16. On the other hand, if you've met your bid but don't think you can set the other team, start to intentionally lose the remaining hands. This will keep you from getting overbooks. To accomplish this, try your best to run out of spades as quickly and ineffectively as possible. If your opponent leads with the Ace of spades, throw your King. If your partner leads with a high spade, go ahead and step on him (or throw the highest spade you have left even if it won't beat him). If you run out of spades, waste your highest off-suit cards. Do whatever you can to make sure that in the last one or two hands, you won't have any good cards at all, and the overbooks will go to your opponents.

17. At the end of the hand, tally the number of books in front of you. Each book in your initial bid is worth ten points. For example:
    *If you bid seven books and you have exactly seven books, you score 70 points.
    *If you bid seven books and you have eight books, you score 70 points and take one overbook (overbooks are sometimes scored as one point, and sometimes kept in a separate tally; this should have been discussed in Step 2).
    *If you bid seven books and only won six, your team has been set, and you lose 70 points from your score.

18. If your team is more than 100 points behind, you can (if you are using this rule) "go blind". Going blind means bidding BEFORE the cards are dealt; you will get twice the value of your stated bid if you make it, and the normal amount if you don't. Bidding a "Blind Six" is the most common, but some rules allow for other numbers. For example: A successful Blind Six means you won six books and receive 120 points. An unsuccessful Blind Six means your team goes back 60 points. Also, overbooks are not counted on blind bids; if you bid Blind Six and get ten books, you are not stuck with the four overbooks. Blinds are a fairly simple way to come back from behind, and if you can set the other team at the same time (since overbooks don't count) you can make up a lot of ground.

Tips & Warnings

• Know your partner. If he tends to bid too aggressively and you keep getting set, keep that in mind. If he is too timid with his bids and you are getting too many overbooks, try to balance him out by being bold.

• Know your opponent. Like poker players, spades players have tells. For instance, many players organize their hands by suit: keep track of where in their hands your opponents draw their spades from, and when they're organizing their cards on the next hand you may be able to guess how many spades (and other suits) they have.

• Some rules allow a lot of crosstalk with your partner, some don't allow any at all. Be alert for subtle signals from your partner indicating what you should lead with, how good his cards are, etc.

• Remember that trying to cheat is a tradition in Spades; this is not a gentleman's game, so play accordingly.