Spades Rules
The complete rules of partnership Spades — from the deal and the bidding to breaking spades, bags, and the race to 500. New to the game? Start with the how-to-play guide first; this page is the reference.
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Spades is a trick-taking game for four players in two fixed partnerships. Spades are always trump. Before each hand every player bids the number of tricks they expect to win; partners' bids are added together, and the team then tries to take at least that many tricks. Making your bid scores points, falling short loses them, and the first team to 500 points wins.
Players, partners and cards
- Players: exactly 4, in two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other. On CardCouch you (South) partner North against West and East.
- Deck: a standard 52-card deck, no jokers. Within each suit cards rank Ace (high) down to 2 (low).
- Trump: spades, permanently. Any spade beats any card of another suit.
- The deal: the whole deck is dealt out clockwise one card at a time, 13 cards to each player. The deal rotates one seat to the left each hand. (In the first hand of a CardCouch game East deals, so you bid and lead first.)
Bidding
Bidding begins with the player to the dealer's left and goes once around the table clockwise. Every player must bid — there is no passing and no second round. A bid is either:
- a number from 1 to 13: the tricks you expect to win yourself; or
- Nil: a promise to win no tricks at all this hand.
The two partners' numeric bids are added to form the team bid. If you bid 3 and North bids 4, your team needs 7 of the 13 tricks; it does not matter which of you wins them. Bidding is a single declaration — you cannot revise your bid once the next player has spoken.
Nil rules
- A Nil bidder must not win a single trick. Zero tricks scores +100 for the team; one or more tricks scores −100.
- The Nil bidder's partner is judged on their own tricks alone. If North bids Nil and you bid 4, you personally must take 4.
- Any tricks a Nil bidder does win do not help the partner's bid — they simply become bags for the team.
- CardCouch plays standard Nil only. Blind Nil (bidding before looking at your cards, for a bigger bonus) is a variant and is not used.
The play
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. Because spades are not yet broken, the opening lead may be any card except a spade.
- Play goes clockwise. Each player must follow the suit led if they hold a card of that suit.
- A player with no card of the led suit may play any card: a spade (trumping) or a card of another suit (discarding, or "sloughing").
- The trick is won by the highest spade played. If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led wins. A card of a third suit can never win.
- The winner of a trick gathers it, and leads the next trick.
- After all 13 tricks the hand is scored.
Breaking spades
Spades may not be led until they have been "broken". Spades are broken the moment the first spade is played on any trick — almost always by a player who could not follow suit and chose to trump. From that point on, any player may lead a spade.
There is one exception: a player whose remaining cards are all spades may lead one even if spades have not been broken. Trumping (playing a spade when you cannot follow suit) is never restricted — the rule applies to leading only. The CardCouch table shows a "Spades broken" marker once it happens.
Scoring in brief
Each team is scored separately at the end of every hand:
- Bid made: 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 point for each extra trick (a bag).
- Bid missed ("set"): minus 10 points per trick bid.
- Nil made: +100. Nil failed: −100, and the tricks taken count as bags.
- 10 bags: every time a team's running bag total reaches 10, it loses 100 points and 10 bags are removed from the count.
The full breakdown, with worked examples, is on the Spades scoring page.
Winning the game
Hands are played until a team's total reaches 500 points. If both teams cross 500 in the same hand, the higher total wins. A team whose score falls to −200 loses immediately. If the scores are exactly tied at 500 or above, another hand is played to break the tie.
Rules at a glance
| Rule | CardCouch plays |
|---|---|
| Players | 4, two partnerships (You & North vs West & East) |
| Cards each | 13 |
| Bids | 1–13 or Nil; everyone bids once |
| Blind Nil | Not played |
| Leading spades | Only after spades are broken (or if you hold only spades) |
| Bag penalty | −100 at every 10 bags |
| Game ends | 500 points wins · −200 loses |
Common variations
Spades has more house rules than almost any other card game. You may meet these elsewhere; none of them are used on CardCouch:
- Blind Nil: bidding Nil before looking at your cards for ±200 instead of ±100, usually only allowed when your team is 100 or more behind.
- Jokers as high trumps: two jokers replace the 2♣ and 2♦, ranking above the Ace of Spades.
- Ten-for-two hundred: a team bid of exactly 10 tricks scores 200 instead of 100.
- Boston / Moon: a team that bids and takes all 13 tricks scores a large bonus (often 250 or an instant win).
- Different targets: games to 300 for a quick match or to 1,000 for an evening; some tables use a five-bag penalty of −50.
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the first trick in Spades?
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick — the same player who bid first. They may lead any card except a spade, because spades have not been broken yet. After that, whoever wins a trick leads the next one.
Can you lead with a spade?
Not until spades are broken. Spades are broken the first time anyone plays a spade on a trick, which normally happens when a player cannot follow suit and trumps in. The only exception: if spades are the only cards left in your hand, you may lead one.
Do you have to play a spade if you can't follow suit?
No. If you cannot follow the suit that was led you may play any card at all — a spade to try to win the trick, or a card from another suit to throw it away. Playing a spade is optional, not required.
Can both partners bid Nil?
Yes, though it is rare. Each Nil is judged on that player's own tricks, so a team with two Nil bidders has no numeric bid at all; each Nil scores +100 if it takes no tricks and −100 if it takes any, and any tricks taken count as bags.
What score do you play to in Spades?
On CardCouch the game is played to 500 points. The first team to reach 500 wins; if both teams pass 500 in the same hand the higher total wins. A team that falls to −200 loses immediately.
Are there jokers in Spades?
Not in standard partnership Spades. The game uses a plain 52-card deck with the Ace of Spades as the highest trump. Some house variants add jokers as super-trumps, but CardCouch plays the classic version without them.