How to Score in Spades

Spades is one of the classic card games, and is commonly enjoyed among four players divided into two teams. There are several ways to score in the game, including catching tricks and successfully bidding nil or blind nil. There are also ways to lose points in the game, including unsuccessful nil and blind nil bids, catching fewer tricks than you bid and getting too many sandbags. This article will help you keep score in your game of spades.

Things You'll Need

• Deck of cards

Instructions

Scoring a Game of Spades

1. Determine how many points will constitute a winning score. A common winning score is 500 points, although you can play to fewer points if you want to play a quicker game.

2. Bid on the number of tricks you think you can catch during a round, based on the strength of your cards. The object of spades is to catch the most tricks possible. High cards of a suit (among the four cards played each round) trump lower cards of the same suit, and spades trump all suits. During one round of play, there are 13 tricks up for grabs. The total number of tricks that both you and your partner bid will be added together to determine the number you will try to catch during the round. For example, if you bid four tricks and your partner bids three, you will try to catch seven tricks. If you successfully win seven tricks you will receive 10 points for each trick, or 70 points. If you get less then seven, you will lose 70 points.

3. Do not bid low just to be on the safe side. You lose 100 points if you catch 10 sandbags. If, in the previous example, you and your partner bid five tricks to play it cautiously and you caught seven tricks, you would win 50 points and get two sandbags. Catch eight more and you lose 100 points.

4. Bid nil if you think you can avoid catching any tricks. Successful nil bids are very profitable in spades because they earn 100 points. Do not bid nil if you have high spades, more than four spades or have the ace or king of another suit and less than four cards of that suit. If you bid nil and catch a trick, you will lose 100 points.

5. If you are falling far behind the other team, consider bidding blind nil. You do this before you look at your cards, so it is a very dangerous play that should only be used if you need a miracle to catch up to the other team. After you bid blind nil, you may swap one card with your partner. Generally, you should throw him your highest spade. A successful blind nil bid is worth 200 points, and an unsuccessful blind nil bid loses as much.

6. Using all of these scoring methods, play until one team reaches the predetermined winning score.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to bid as accurately as possible, because those sandbags will add up.

• Skilled spades players are good at frequently bidding nil and avoiding tricks. Nil bids are often easier than they look.

• Use blind nil bids only in the direst of times.