How To Play Spades: Only Tutorial You Need To Learn Spades

Cards games are the most fun games to play and pass the time. Regular playing can also be a good exercise for your brain. There are many card games available to play. However, Spades is the perfect card game for everyone. It was created in the USA in the 1930s. It became famous in the 1940s. The game has easy rules and effortless gameplay. However, it is popular; many people need to learn how to play it. So, in this article, I will tell you How to Play Spades. If you know to play spades, you can easily play other card games.

How to Play Spades:

Things Needed: To play a game of spades, you need four players. You can also play with two players. Secondly, you need a full deck of 52 cards. Ace is the highest card in the game, and two is the lowest card. It would be best if you also had a pen and paper to count the scores. 

Terms to know before playing Spades:

Deal: The Dealer spreads cards to the participants; the activity is called a deal. 

Bid: The number of tricks players play after cards have been dealt is called a bid. The participants bid on the number of tricks they think they’ll win that round. 

Lead: The participant at the card dealer’s left puts the first card when the round starts and forms a suit called Lead. 

Suit: The suit is the symbol every card has; it can be Hears, Clubs, Diamonds, or Spades.

Trick: Fixed cards that all participant play in the play of the hand is called a trick.

Turn: When every player has played a card, and one full round of table is completed, we say one turn is completed.

Bag: Bags is the number of tricks a participant wins exceeding the bid.

Trump: The highest-ranked suit in the game is called Trump. Spades are the Trump in this game.

Now you know all the terms crucial to playing the game of Spades. Now you are ready to learn How To Play Spades.

Object Of The Game: It is simple, win an equal number of tricks as the bid was when the game started. For example, if you bid four tricks at the start, you need four tricks to win. 

Dealing:

To select the first dealer among all the players, each player pulls a random card, and the player with the highest card gets the first dealing. After that, everyone gets a chance to deal in a clockwise order. The dealer gives the cards from his left and gets the last card. Every player receives 13 cards.

Bidding:

The player who got the first card starts the bidding. Then the other takes bid in the clockwise movement. Everyone has to take at least one bid. Each player takes a bid without discussing it with others. After adding both team members bids, the sum number is the one to beat for a win. Players have to bid between 0 to 13. You cant choose over 13. You can select your bid blindly without looking at your cards.

Example: let’s assume Four Players: Kyle, Marie, Martha, and Dean. Kyle and Marie are one team, and Martha and Dean are the second. Kyle bid four tricks, and Marie bids 5. To Win, Kyle and Marie need to do 9 Tricks combined. 

Nil Bid:

If a player bids Zero, then it’s called Nil Bid. It means that the player will not win any tricks in the round. However, if the player doesn’t win a single trick in the round, their team will get 100 points, and if the player wins a trick, their team will get 100 points penalty. If both team members select a Nil bid and complete it, they will get 200 points. Conversely, if they win a single trick, they will get a penalty of points. 

Blind Bid:

If a player selects bids without seeing cards, it is called Blind Nil, also known as Double Nil. Well, for successfully completing a Blind bid, your team gets 200 points, and every unsuccessful blind bid attempt gives you 200 penalty points. They get double points when both team members do it, if they fails penalty is also double. If both team members take blind nil and one completes, and the other one doesn’t, then they will get zero points. Most teams choose it when the other team is so close to winning.

How to Play Spades: Gameplay

After selecting bids, the person sitting on the left of the dealer starts the game by playing the first card, then other players follow by putting the card of the same suit in clockwise order. You can put other suits of cards if you dont have the card of the same suit; you can use any other card or a trump card. The player with the highest card wins the trick. The game ends when all the cards are over. After one round ends, everyone counts their tricks and checks which has the correct number of tricks they selected at the start of the game.

Scoring:

The scoring of spades is done on a paper with two different parts for each team. The first team to make 500 points wins the game. Some people also play a shorter version of 200 points. Every trick is worth 10 points, and every bag is worth 1 point. If you select five tricks and win five tricks, your score will be 50. However, if you bid five tricks and win 6, your score will be 51. On the other hand, if a player can’t win selected tricks, he will get a zero score. Example: If you choose six tricks and win five tricks, your score will be 0. Adding these points and the first team that gets to 500 points wins the game.

Sandbagging:

You think winning more than the selected bid is good in the spades, but it’s not. If your team gets ten more tricks in total, then your team will get a 100 points penalty. 

Example: Chris and Tony are a team. In the first round, tony selected five bids and got nine, and Chris chose four and got 7. In the second round, tony selected six and got eight, and Chris picked five and got 8. Now, if you calculate in two rounds, they got 12 tricks more that selected, which is more than 10. If this happens, they will get a 100 points penalty. 

Conclusion: 

Finally, now you know how to play spades. It is a fun and easy card game. You can play it with your friends and family. The game is not hard to understand, and after reading our tutorial, I am 100% sure that you are now ready to play a game of Spades. Remember all the rules and terms in your mind. Make new strategies to win and play the game regularly to improve your skills. To play Spades, you dont even need a deck cause you can play it on your phone. Many apps are available online to sharpen your skills and enjoy the game. Tell us your favorite game of cards in the comments.