Spades

Spades is a card game for four players.  The players are divided into two teams of two persons each:  Each player sits across the table from his partner.  The game utilizes a standard fifty two card deck; however, the two jokers replace the two of diamonds and the two of hearts.  The two of diamonds and the two of hearts are discarded from the deck.  Both jokers are considered spades, and one joker is labeled the big joker, and the other joker is labeled the little joker.  The big joker is the highest spade; followed by the little joker, the two of spades, the Ace of spades; and the King, Queen, and Jack of spades.   Therefore, there are fifteen spades in a standard game of Spades.  The player to the dealer’s right “cuts” the cards, and next the dealer starts “dealing” to the person on his left.  Each player is dealt thirteen cards, until the cards in the deck of cards are exhausted.  After each player looks at the cards in his hand, each player arranges the cards by suit.  In each of the off suits, the Ace is the highest card, followed by the King, Queen, and Jack.

The bidding starts with the team adjacent to the dealer.  Of the thirteen books available to be won, one player on this team “bids” or “calls” the number of books that he estimates that he can win.  Then his partner makes his bid, and the two are totaled.  The individual bids are irrelevant:  Only the team bid is important.  Then the other team bids in the same manner.  Each team must estimate that they will win at least four books.  An estimate of four is the lowest legal bid possible, and a bid of four is known as a “board” bid.   After the bidding is completed either team may elect to increase their bid.  However, once a bid is made; it may not be decreased.

 

Play starts with the player to the left of the dealer “leads” the first card.  Play continues clockwise.  A player, if he has at least one card in the suit that is led, must play a card from the suit that is led.  If he does not have a card in the suit that his led then he may play any card.  If he plays a spade in this situation then he “trumps” the suit.  If no spade is played the highest card from the suit that was led wins the trick.  If at least one spade is played then the highest spade wins the book.  Once a spade has been played, a player may lead with a spade.  Until this point, a spade may not be led.  One is not forced to play a spade if he has no card in the suit that is led.   Spades is always the trump suit in a game of Spades.

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If a team fails to obtain at least their estimated book total then they are said to be “set”.  Any team that is set three times automatically loses the game.  If neither team is set three times then the team that reaches five hundred points first wins the game.  If both teams reach five hundred on the same hand then the team that has the highest score after that hand wins the game.  A team that is not set receives ten points for each book that they bid, but receives only one point for a trick that they did not bid.  If a team is set they lose ten times their bid.  If a team trails by at least one hundred points then that team may go blind in the subsequent hand.  However, going blind is risky, because the team that goes blind must bid before looking at their cards.  If they go blind then they receive double the number of points for each book bid.  If a team goes blind and is subsequently set then they lose only ten times their bid.  Anytime a team bids ten books then they receive two hundred points if they win ten tricks and one additional point for each trick above ten.

Bidding is an art and not a science:  It is impossible to know for certain the number of books that one can win.  Furthermore, the exact distribution of the cards is unknown to each player.    Aces and Kings in the off suits generally each win a trick, and a player should add a certain number of tricks or books for the spades in his hand.  If a player has a large number of spades and possesses a single card in one of the other suits then he should generally increase his bid by one book.  If he has no card in one of the off suits then he may generally add two books to his bid provided that he holds a sizable number of spades.  Queens sometimes also win a trick; particularly when the player possessing the queen has an ace or only two additional cards in the same suit as the Queen.   An unprotected King in one of the off suits generally does not lead to a “trick”.  If a player has a very small percentage of spades in his hand then he generally should underbid by one or possibly more tricks.  If a player holds numerous cards in one of the off suits then he should not count a King in that suit as a possible book.  None of these strategies are set in stone.  Each player must bid each hand differently depending on the cards in his hand and the score of the game.

Some strategies are nearly universal to all Spades games.  It is almost always a mistake to overtrump one’s partner; except when the player that overtrumps his partner has only spades in his hand.  Overtrumping occurs when a player leads a higher spade than a previously played spade when a card from an off suit is led.  It is also a mistake in general to play a spade when one’s partner plays the highest remaining card in an off suit.  If a player is the last to play then it is generally best for him to win the trick with the lowest card that the player can play that will win the trick for his team or to dump off the lowest losing card if his partner has the potential book won or if he can’t win the trick no matter what card he plays.  Of course, he must follow all of the rules of play when he discards.

In a serious game of Spades, one may only communicate with one’s partner by placing a “bid” on the number of books of cards that he expects to win with the cards in his hand.  Any other communication, other than by playing a card, is a breach of the rules.  For example, one may not communicate which cards have been played, who has played which card, or expose to their partner any of his cards.  Even a comment such as “I have a lot of a particular suit”, is a type of communication that is not permitted in Spades.  When a rule is broken generally a three book penalty is enforced.  Playing the wrong suit is also an obvious breach of the rules.  However, it is permitted to inform a player as to which suit has been “led”.  If you accuse an opponent wrongfully of playing out of suit, that generally also carries a three book penalty.  Most non-serious games avoid penalizing for trivial breaches in the rules.

Spades is a strategic game when played competitively; however, most of the more serious players compete in Bridge.  Bridge allows for a much more strategic bidding process; because in bridge, any of the four suits can be the trump suit in any particular hand.  In Spades, most hands are split rather evenly; allowing the better bidding team to accumulate more points.   However, few games are won with no sets; consequently, underbidding can sometimes be the most successful strategy.  This has the potential to ruin the strategic nature of the game.  To be successful at the card game called Spades, one must have both luck and skill.  The distribution of the cards greatly affects the outcome of any one particular hand.  Proper bidding and discarding can lead to success in the long-run.  One must combine strategy, concentration, and the ability to anticipate the play of his opponents and the play of his partner.  Luck plays a more important role than it otherwise would, because a team that believes that it will win less than four tricks must go “board”.  Bluffing when bidding can occasionally be a very successful strategy, but this form of bluffing must be done without breaching any of the stipulated rules of play.  The rules vary slightly from game to game

 

In some games, teams are penalized for overbidding; either by being set when winning two or more times the number of books bid or by receiving a penalty for accumulating ten points on tricks that are not bid.  Furthermore, sometimes when both teams bid a combined ten or less tricks the hand is not played out to completion, and each team receives ten times their bid.  Finally, if a player has no spades in his hand and also has no picture cards or Aces then he may call for a new deal.  However, these rules are not universal.