How to Play Spades: Rules, Bidding and Scoring
Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players in two teams, partners sitting across from each other. Each player bids how many of the 13 tricks they will win, and spades are always trump. A team that takes at least its combined bid scores 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 point for each extra trick; a team that falls short loses 10 points per trick bid. The first team to 500 points wins.
Players, cards and the aim
Spades uses a standard 52-card deck and four players. You play with the person across the table as your partner, against the two players on your left and right. Aces are high: each suit runs from 2 (lowest) up to 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace.
The aim is to predict exactly how many tricks your team will take, then take them. Bidding too low wastes points and piles up penalties; bidding too high loses points. You can try every rule below in the GameLake Spades game, where Hops the frog is your partner against Pip and Shelly.
The deal
Shuffle and deal all 52 cards one at a time, clockwise, so everyone has 13. The deal passes to the left after every hand. Sort your hand by suit before you think about your bid; it's much easier to count your tricks that way.
Bidding: how many tricks will you take?
Starting with the player to the dealer's left and going clockwise, each player says one number from 1 to 13: the number of tricks they expect to win. There's only one round of bidding, and you can't change your bid afterwards. You and your partner's bids are added together into your team's contract.
- Count sure tricks: Aces, Kings with at least one more card of the suit, and high spades.
- Add for length in spades: a fifth or sixth spade often wins a trick late in the hand.
- Add for short suits: if you have no diamonds, you can trump the first diamond lead with a small spade.
- Round down, not up. Missing your contract costs far more than one spare trick.
There's a deeper look at counting a hand, and when to bid Nil, in our Spades bidding and strategy guide.
Playing the tricks
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick with any card except a spade. Play goes clockwise, each player adding one card. When four cards are down, whoever won the trick leads the next one. There are 13 tricks in a hand.
- Follow suit. If you have a card of the suit that was led, you must play one of them.
- Can't follow? Play any card. You can throw away a card from another suit, or play a spade to trump.
- Spades win. The highest spade in the trick takes it. If no spade was played, the highest card of the suit that was led wins.
Breaking spades
You can't lead a spade until spades have been broken: someone has played a spade on another suit because they couldn't follow. After that, anyone may lead spades. The only exception is a hand with nothing but spades left, which may lead one at any time.
Leading a spade as soon as they're broken is often a strong move for the team with the most spades: it pulls trumps out of the opponents' hands, so your long suits become winners.
Scoring a hand
When all 13 tricks are played, each team counts the tricks its two players took and compares them with its contract.
| What happened | Points |
|---|---|
| Made the contract | +10 for every trick bid |
| Each trick over the contract (a bag) | +1 |
| Every 10 bags collected | −100 (and 10 bags are removed) |
| Missed the contract (set) | −10 for every trick bid |
| Nil made (took no tricks) | +100 |
| Nil failed | −100 |
| Blind Nil made / failed | +200 / −200 |
For example, you bid 4 and Hops bids 3, so your contract is 7. Together you take 9 tricks: that's 70 points plus 2 bags, 72. If you had taken only 6, you'd lose 70. Scoring has its own guide, with bags and Nil worked through: Spades scoring explained.
Nil and Blind Nil
Instead of a number, a player may bid Nil: a promise to win no tricks at all. Their partner's bid becomes the team's whole contract, and the Nil is scored on its own: +100 if the Nil player takes no tricks, −100 if they take even one. Tricks the Nil player takes don't count towards the partner's bid; they count as bags.
Blind Nil is a Nil bid made before you look at your cards. It's worth 200 points either way, and on GameLake it's an option you switch on, only allowed when your team is behind by 100 points or more: a comeback move.
Winning the game
Keep dealing hands and adding scores. The first team to reach 500 points wins. If both teams pass 500 on the same hand, the higher score wins; a tie plays one more hand. A team that falls to −200 loses straight away. For a shorter game, GameLake lets you play to 250 instead.
Playing Spades on GameLake
- Play against Hops' team at Easy, Medium or Hard, or try the Daily deal, the same hand for everyone.
- Online: send a friend a link and play two against two, or with two people and Hops' pond friends as partners.
- Teach me has Hops suggest a bid or the card to play and say why in one line.
- Cards you can't play are dimmed, so you never break the follow-suit rule by mistake.
Frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Spades?
Four, in two teams of two, with partners sitting across from each other. There are two- and three-player versions, but the partnership game is the standard one.
Who leads first in Spades?
The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick. They may lead any suit except spades, which can't be led until they've been broken.
Do you have to follow suit in Spades?
Yes. If you hold a card of the suit that was led, you must play one. Only when you have none may you trump with a spade or throw away another card.
What does it mean to break spades?
Spades are broken the first time someone plays a spade on another suit because they couldn't follow. After that, spades may be led.
How many points do you need to win Spades?
500 in the standard game. The first team to reach it wins; a team that drops to −200 loses.
What happens if you don't make your bid in Spades?
Your team is set: you lose 10 points for every trick you bid. A contract of 6 that takes only 5 tricks scores −60.