How to Play Card Games Tutorial - Rules of Spades

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The Play of the Hand

On the first trick, everyone must play their lowest club. A player who has no clubs must discard a diamond or a heart. No spades may be played to the trick. On this first trick it does not matter much in what order the four players play their cards - but if you want to be fussy then the holder of the 2 of clubs should lead, and the others play in clockwise order. The trick is won by the highest club played.

The player who won the first trick leads to the next. Any card except a spade may be led. Each player, in turn, clockwise, must follow suit if able; if unable to follow suit, the player may play any card. A trick containing a spade is won by the highest spade played; if no spade is played, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit led.

The player who wins a trick leads to the next. Spades may not be led until either

• some player has played a spade (on the lead of another suit, of course), or
• the leader has nothing but spades left in hand.

Scoring

A side that takes at least as many tricks as its bid calls for receives a score equal to 10 times its bid. Additional tricks (overtricks) are worth an extra one point each.

Sandbagging rule: A side which (over several deals) accumulates ten or more overtricks has 100 points deducted from its score. Any overtricks beyond ten are carried over to the next cycle of ten overtricks - that is if they reached twenty overtricks they would lose another 100 points and so on. (Note: it is not necessary to keep track of overtricks separately as the cumulative number of overtricks taken appears as the final digit of the team's score, if positive).

If a side does not make its bid, they lose 10 points for each trick they bid.

If a bid of nil is successful, the nil bidder's side receives 50 points. This is in addition to the score won (or lost) by the partner of the nil bidder for tricks made. If a bid of nil fails - that is, the bidder takes at least one trick - the bidder's side loses 50 points (but still receives any amount scored for the partner's bid, and the tricks won by the nil bidder count towards making the partner's bid).

A bid of blind nil scores twice as much as an ordinary nil - it wins 100 points if successful and loses 100 points if it fails.

The side which reaches 500 points first wins the game. If both sides reach 500 points in a single deal, the side with the higher score wins.

Continue Rules of Spades Tutorial: Variations