How to Play Spades is one of the most popular games introduced in the US. With time the game gained a lot of popularity and what was restricted to America for over 6 decades then became popular worldwide. Generally the game is played traditionally by 4 players but other variants of the game also involve 2, 3, 6, etc. players.
If you are interested in playing spades card game, wait no more. Below is a detailed guide on Spades game.
- Spades game objective – To be the first player to get rid of all the cards to a discard pile.
- Total Number of Players – 2-7 players
- Number of Cards – 52 deck cards for 5 or less players and 104 cards for more than 5 players
- Rank of Cards – 8 (50 points); K, Q, J (court cards 10 points); A (1 point); 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
- Game Type – Shedding-type
- Game Audience – Family
Contents
Setup
For the game, you will require a standard pack of 52 playing cards and the game rotates clockwise. In the game of spades, the partner players sit across each other.
How to Deal
The dealer is chosen randomly. The deal proceeds clockwise then. Until all the cards are dispersed, the dealer deals to the left. All players are given 13 cards in hand.
How to Bid
After dealing, all the players have to bid. Bidding basically means players have to gauge how many hands they think they can win. The term – ‘Taking a Trick’ is given to Winning a hand.
So, the players will decide how many tricks they can take together and this is called as their bid. The game is played in partners and they are to either match their bid or exceed it in order to win.
Bidding is done only once and all players are required to bid. Partners can discuss the bid they want to take but will not be allowed to show each other their hands. The most tricks that can be made in a game are 13.
- Nil – As the name suggests, this weird bid is when players state that they will not win any tricks. If successful in the bid, the players get a bonus, but if not, then a penalty follows. Partner of the player who bids nil does not compulsorily have to bid nil.
- Blind Nil – When a player chooses to bid nil even without looking at their cards, that bid is called a blind nil. If successful, the player calling a blind nil gets bonus points. Once all the players have bid, the player who is bidding a blind nil gets to exchange 2 cards faced down with their partner before the game starts.
How to Play Spades?
Before the game actually starts, the players have to set the points required to win the game. The general score of 500 points is needed to win the game.
- Player who is to the left of the dealer goes first.
- The rest of the players are required to follow the suit of the first card if possible.
- In case a player is not able to follow the suit they can play a trump card or any other card they want.
- The player who played the highest card of the suit wins the trick. But the exception here is unless the suit was trumped by a joker or a spade.
- The player who won the trick will throw the first card in the next round.
- The goal of the game is to win as many tricks as you bid or more in the beginning.
- Game continues until all the cards are played.
Scoring
Every trick won gets 10 points and every trick won with a score above the bid gets 1 point additional. Such additional points are called as a Bag or Overtrick.
- Every Trick bid = 10 points
- Every trick over the bid = 1 Point
If a team wins 10 overtrick or 10 bags, they have to deduct 100 points from their score. This is a great trick as it encourages the players to win exactly the number of tricks they bid at the beginning of the game.
In case a team fails to grab the number of tricks they bid, they get 0 points.
If a player is successful in their bid of Blind Nil, their team gets 200 points. However, if the blind nil fails, 200 points are deducted.
For a successful bid of nil, a team receives 100 points.
Who Wins Spades Card Game?
The player who gets rid of all the cards wins Spade Card game. You will have to score as many points or more points than bid.
That was all about how to play Spades card game. I hope you have very well understood the game now. In case you want to know more about such different games, keep following us!
