Spades

It will be undermining to define Spades as just another kind of card game you can play at online casinos. This particular ‘game’ is so much more than its mere name. It is truly a part and parcel of life.

Did you know people don’t mind losing shoes, couth, cousins, wives, and husbands over this? Why, you wonder? Because, it is their utmost love for this game that can’t be measured or put into words.

Somewhere around the 1990s, Spades became a highly popular card game (a trick taking one that was a member of the renowned whist family) in the USA. But one must understand by then it was more than forty years old.

Four players in the form of partnership (bridge style) play this game. From a standard deck of 52 cards, 13 cards are dealt to each player. It is while playing this game that the spade suit trumps.

Spades – How Do You Play It?

The objective of the game is to win the tricks bid. In order to play a classic game of Spades, a deck of 52 cards is used. The cards are then dealt in a clockwise manner to the left of the dealer’s successors. Every player (there are four) will receive 13 cards.

Bidding in the game also moves in a clockwise direction. It starts from the dealer’s successor in the left. Now, there are two ways a player can bid – one being blind bid and the other is see cards. When the player picks the option to see cards, then he or she must bid for a number between 0 – 13. The need for the bids to go lower or higher than the previous one is unnecessary.

In Spades, both the partners bidding is summed up to form team bid. In order to win a positive score, your team must win this particular number of tricks. A NIL bid occurs when a player declares that he or she won’t be able to win any tricks.

In case, the player succeeds a total of 100 points is rewarded and if the player loses, he or she receives 100 points penalty. The moment bidding starts, players can make a decision to not look at his or her share of dealt cards and proceed towards making a bid – Blind NIL. This bid can either win 200 points or cost 200 points to the player.

Some Basic Rules Of Spades

In a game of Spades, the cards present in each suit can be ranked in the following manner – A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The player sitting on the left of the dealer begins the trick. This player has the right to choose any card, except the spades suit. This trick is then continued in a clockwise fashion and all the other players must follow suit. If it isn’t followed, random cards can be played. During a trick if no spade is played, the round is won by the highest card value. However, if spades suit is played, it is the highest value spade that wins the trick. Keep in mind you can’t play a spade card until the leader is left with no other cards except spades or a spade card is played to rank above another trick.

How Is The Game Scored?

Now that you have learned quite a bit about how Spades is played and what you should do to have a winning hand, it is time to understand how the game is scored.

When a player ends up winning the exact amount he or she has placed a bid on, that player ends up earning points 10 times more than his or her bid.
A team will continue to earn additional points (one) every time more tricks are played than the actual bid. Every overtrick or bag ends up adding a point. When a team reaches 10 overtricks, bags are reset to zero and penalty of 100 points is charged.
If a team ends up winning less tricks than their original bid, points are lost. Points equivalent to 10 times the original bid is deducted.
When a NIL bid is successful, the player instantly wins 100 points. However, 100 points are deducted if failed.
Blind NIL can earn players 200 points when successful and lose 200 if unsuccessful.
The team that earns 200 points first wins. The team with -150 points loses.

Time To Place A Bid

Once the cards have been dealt, players must survey their cards. You need to come up with a close estimate as to how many tricks you are capable of winning. The number of estimated tricks that is played by two partners in the game is referred as contract.

When it comes to placing a trick there is no room for a pass. No suit can be named trumps because only spades are trumps. You must understand that it doesn’t matter which team ends up winning the trick as long as a team makes the contract. Though the player on the left side of the dealer leads he or she can’t lead a trump card or spade for the very first trick.

The play continues to move in clockwork direction. You have to match or follow the suit that has been played. When you fail to follow suit, go ahead and play any card.

How do you like the game of Spades now? Do you think you can finally beat your opponents and bag the title of being a winner? Well, we definitely think you can.