Spades Rules

Spades is sometimes called Call Bridge.

Number of Players:

Spades card game requires four players to play as partners. Choose your partner or draw from a deck to determine partners. Partners sit opposite each other.

Objective:

To win the number of tricks that your side bids.

The cards:

Standard 52-card deck. Aces are high ones are low.

If you have a short suit like the clovers, getting rid of these cards first will give you and advantage. Your partner will then be able to lead with the clovers.

Dealing:

Draw a card from down card pile to determine who deals first. Deal 13 cards to each player. The next player’s turn to deal proceeds clockwise.

Bidding:

The game begins after a single round of bids. Every player must make a bid of at least one trick; there are no passes, and no suit is named to be trumps since Spades are always trumps. Bidding begins from the dealer’s left. After each player makes a bid, both partners combine their bids to total their contract bids. It doesn’t matter who wins the tricks as long as the team makes the contract. For example: The player on your left bids three, your partner also bids three, the next player bids four, and you bid two. This means that your opponent’s contract is to take seven tricks while your team’s contract is to win five tricks. It’s a good idea to write down the bids.

Instructions for Playing:

The player at dealer’s left leads but can’t lead a (trump) for the first trick. The play moves clockwise. You must follow the suit led. If you can’t follow suit, play any card. You do not have to play a trump unless it is the led suit. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a trumps the trick. If more than one trump is played in a trick, the highest trump wins. A Spade can be played only if the player has no cards in the led suit. A Spade can’t be led until a it has  trumped  an earlier trick or when only Spades are left in the hand. The winner of a trick leads to the next trick. Cards in a trick should be piled together in a stack visible to all players. Each pile should have some separation so tricks can be counted during and after play. This simplifies score keeping. If a player doesn’t follow suit while holding unplayed cards of that suit, that partnership can’t score any points even if they make their contract.

Spades Rules for Scoring:

Prior to the first hand, players decide on what score is needed to win. This score is usually a multiple of 100; 500 is customary. If you make your contract, multiply the number of tricks times 10 for the total trick points. Each trick you win above your contract, called a  sandbag,  counts for 1 point. If you fail to make your contract, you lose 10 points for every trick bid. For example, your side bids eight, and your opponents bid four. Your side wins ten tricks, and their side wins three tricks. Your side scores 82 points (successful contract of eight, plus two sandbags); your opponents lose 40 points (failing to make the contract).

Sandbags:

Don’t think that overtricks are good for your bottom line. Underbids work against you. As soon as your sandbags total ten (besides the running score, also track the number of sandbags separately), 100 points are subtracted from your total score. If you have more than ten sandbags, leftovers begin a new count toward ten. For example, you bid four and win six tricks. If you already have nine sandbags, you will be penalized 100 points and have one sandbag toward the next count of ten. Penalties for sandbags help discourage underbidding.

History:

Spades card game is an American invented game developed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1930’s. Over time this game has become a classic American game. This game is closely related to the whist family, bridge, bid and hearts.

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