How to Play Spades
Your complete guide to Spades — the classic four-player partnership game where you bid the tricks you'll take, then make them with your partner.
Overview & Objective
Spades is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, played with a standard 52-card deck. Spades are always trump. Before each hand every player bids how many tricks they expect to win; your bid and your partner's bid are added together, and your team then tries to take at least that many tricks. Make the bid and you score; fall short and you lose points. The first team to 500 points wins.
On CardCouch you sit South and your partner is North. West and East are your opponents.
Setup & Dealing
- Players: Exactly 4, in two teams. Partners sit across from each other.
- Deck: A standard 52-card deck, Aces high. Spades are permanently trump.
- Deal: All cards are dealt out, 13 to each player. The deal rotates clockwise each hand.
Bidding & Nil
Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left and goes once around the table. Each player looks at their hand and bids the number of tricks they think they can win — anywhere from 1 to 13. There is only one round of bidding and no passing: everyone must bid.
The two partners' bids are added together to form the team bid. If you bid 3 and your partner bids 4, your team must take at least 7 of the 13 tricks. It doesn't matter which of you takes them.
Bidding Nil
Instead of a number, a player may bid Nil — a promise to take no tricks at all. A successful Nil earns the team a 100-point bonus; a failed Nil costs 100. A Nil bidder's partner bids and is judged on their own tricks alone, and any tricks the Nil bidder accidentally takes become bags for the team rather than helping the partner's bid.
Nil is a gamble that pays off with a weak hand: few spades, no aces or kings, and plenty of low cards to duck with. CardCouch plays simple Nil only (no blind Nil).
Playing a Hand
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick with any card except a spade.
- Play proceeds clockwise. You must follow the led suit if you can. If you can't, you may play any card — including a spade to trump the trick.
- Spades are trump. If any spades were played, the highest spade wins the trick. Otherwise the highest card of the led suit wins.
- The trick winner leads the next trick. After 13 tricks the hand is scored.
Breaking Spades
You may not lead a spade until spades have been "broken" — that is, until someone has played a spade on an earlier trick, usually by trumping when they couldn't follow suit. The one exception: if spades are the only cards left in your hand, you may lead them. The table shows a "Spades broken" marker once it happens.
Scoring
After each hand, every team is scored on its bid:
| Result | Points | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Team makes its bid | +10 per trick bid, +1 per overtrick | Bid 7, take 8: +71 (and 1 bag) |
| Team falls short (is "set") | −10 per trick bid | Bid 7, take 6: −70 |
| Nil made (0 tricks) | +100 | Partner bid 4 and took 5: +100 +41 |
| Nil set (1+ tricks) | −100 (tricks become bags) | Nil bidder took 2: −100, +2 bags |
| Every 10 bags collected | −100 | Bags go from 8 to 11: −100, 1 bag remains |
A team's numeric bid is judged on the partners' combined tricks — unless one partner bid Nil, in which case the other partner's bid is judged on that partner's tricks alone.
Bags
Every trick you take beyond your bid is a bag (also called a sandbag). Each bag scores a single point at the time, which sounds harmless — but bags accumulate from hand to hand, and every time your team's bag count reaches 10, you lose 100 points and 10 bags are removed from your count. Taking tricks you didn't bid for is not free.
Winning the Game
Hands are played until a team reaches 500 points. If both teams cross 500 in the same hand, the higher total wins. A team that sinks to −200 loses on the spot. Steady, accurate bids beat wild ones: a made bid of 4 is worth far more than a set bid of 7.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Spades?
Classic Spades is a four-player partnership game: two teams of two, with partners sitting across the table. On CardCouch you and North are partners against West and East.
What does it mean to break spades?
Spades are 'broken' the first time a spade is played on a trick — usually because a player couldn't follow the led suit and trumped in. Until spades are broken, you may not lead a spade unless spades are the only cards you hold.
What is a Nil bid in Spades?
A Nil bid is a promise to take no tricks at all during the hand. If you succeed your team scores 100 bonus points; if you take even one trick your team loses 100. Any tricks a Nil bidder takes count as bags for the team, not toward the partner's bid.
What are bags in Spades?
Bags (also called sandbags or overtricks) are tricks a team takes beyond its bid. Each bag is worth 1 point at the time, but every time a team's running bag count reaches 10 it loses 100 points and 10 bags are removed from its count.
What happens if a team doesn't make its bid?
The team is 'set' and loses 10 points for every trick it bid. Bidding 5 and taking 4 costs 50 points — which is why accurate bidding matters more than ambitious bidding.
How do you win a game of Spades?
The first team to reach 500 points wins. If both teams pass 500 in the same hand, the higher total wins. A team that falls to −200 loses immediately.
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