Spades

Origin	United States
Alternative name(s)	Call Bridge
Type	Trick-taking
Players	4 (standard)[1][2]
Skill(s) required	Card counting, Tactics
Cards	52
Deck	French
Play	Clockwise
Card rank (highest to lowest)	A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Playing time	20 min.[citation needed]
Random chance	Moderate
Related games
Bid Whist, Contract Bridge, Tarneeb

Spades is a trick-taking card game devised in the United States in the 1930s. It can be played as either a partnership or solo/"cutthroat" game. The object is to take at least the number of tricks they bid on before play began.^[3] In partnership Spades, the bids and tricks taken are combined for a partnership. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games, which also includes Bridge, Hearts, and Oh, Hell. Its major difference as compared to other Whist variants is that, instead of trump being decided by the highest bidder or at random, the Spade suit is always trump, hence the name.^[4]

History

Spades was devised in the United States in the late 1930s and became popular in the 1940s.^[5][6] It is unclear which game it is most directly descended from, but it is known that Spades is a member of the Whist family and is a simplification of Contract Bridge such that a skilled Spades player can learn Bridge relatively quickly (the major additional rules being dynamic trump, the auction, dummy play, and rubber scoring).

The game's rise to popularity in the U.S. came during World War II, when it was introduced by soldiers from its birthplace in Cincinnati, Ohio^[6] to various military stations around the world. The game's popularity in the armed forces stems from its simplicity compared to Bridge and Euchre and the fact that it can be more easily interrupted than Poker, all of which were also popular military card games. After the war, veterans brought the game back home to the U.S., where due to the GI Bill it spread to and became popular among college students as well as in home games. It also remained widely popular in countries in which U.S. troops were stationed, both in WWII and later deployments.

Game variations

As with any widely played game of such a flexible nature, Spades has many variations, ranging from significant changes in gameplay to small tweaks that suit individual or household preference.

Deal variations

Face-up deal

In this variant, the dealer can lay out up to four cards per player face up as long as the same number is revealed for each player. Revealing the cards can also set up the psychological warfare of bidding and later playing, referred to as power checks, but face-up deals are sometimes done by dealers who set the deck to determine if the cut has disrupted their preparations. When a face-up deal is made, Blind Nil can still be bid if the player has not viewed any face-down cards.

Kitty

In games with players where the cards cannot be dealt evenly, there is a variation in which no cards are removed from the deck, but instead a kitty composed of the leftover cards (or one trick's worth of cards plus the leftovers) is placed at center. Whoever is dealt the 2♣, or alternatively, the player with the highest bid (tie-breaker being first to make that bid), picks up the kitty before bidding begins, integrates it into their hand and then discards the same amount of cards. If a round of cards in addition to the leftovers is placed in the kitty, the discard by the player who picked up the kitty counts as a trick. This introduces more uncertainty in bids because usually the person with the kitty tries to void one suit and trump earlier in the game.

Deuce Starts

Regardless of which player has dealt, the player with the 2♣ leads it to begin the game, similar to Hearts.

Bidding variations

Board

Each team is required to make a minimum required bid of four tricks. When bidding Nil, the player's teammates must bid a minimum of four tricks or bid Double Nil or Triple Nil with three teammates. When playing solo, you can bid Nil or board. You can never bid anything between Nil or board. A variation to this play involves setting the minimum bid to whatever number the players agree on.

Partnership bidding

This variant allows partners to "talk" during the bidding round and bid as a partnership rather than individuals. The partnership that did not deal makes their bid first, and the opposing partnership may use this information to craft their bid, although the total number of tricks bid by both teams does not need to equal 13. The minimum bid is "Board" or 4 tricks, and there is no Nil bidding. Players are allowed to discuss how many tricks they think they can take with each other, but any discussion that identifies specific cards or strength of a particular suit constitutes "cross-boarding" and results in a misdeal, for which the penalty can range from the deal passing to the left to adding a predetermined number of "bags" to the offending partnership to a score penalty of up to 100 points.

The only exception to this rule is the Ace Check rule. If a player holds 3 or more Aces in his hand, that player may use the phrase Ace Check during the bidding round. The partner then discloses whether or not they have an Ace. If the initiating partner can now determine that all 4 Aces are held within the partnership, he or she may pass a card face down to his or her partner. Doing so creates a special contract where if the partnership retains all 4 Aces after all cards are played for the hand, they receive a 100 point bonus. If not, they receive a 100 point penalty. The Ace Check variant is optional to Partnership Bidding, and is generally only used in combination with "Deuces High" or similar Trump Variants where the Ace of Spades is more difficult to retain since other cards in the deck are assigned a higher rank.

Auction Spades

This variant combines Spades gameplay with the auction-based bidding of Contract Bridge. Each player must bid a minimum of 1 trick; by making the bid, they are committing their partnership to take the minimum 6 tricks plus the number bid. Subsequent bidders must raise the bid or pass; once they pass, they cannot bid further. Once all other players have passed, the winning partnership (declarers) must take a number of tricks equal to the winning bid plus 6 (so a winning bid of 2 commits the declarers to winning 8 tricks), while the defenders attempt to set them. If the declarers make contract, they get 10 points per bid trick; if they are set they get nothing. The defenders get 10 points per overtrick made by, or undertrick missed by, the declarers (if the declarers bid 2 and only make 6 tricks, the declarers get nothing and defenders get 20 points; if the declarers make 10 tricks, the declarers get 80 points but the defenders get 20 for the 2 unbid overtricks). Thus, the defenders have a choice of tactics; they can either set the declarers so they get no points, or may "bag" the declarers by forcing them to take overtricks so both sides get points.

Notrump bids

This variant's name is misleading as it is not the same as the equivalent bid in Contract Bridge; Spades are still trumps, but a player who bids some number of tricks with "no trump" promises not to win any tricks with spades, except when spades are led. A player may only bid "No Trump" if that player holds at least one spade in their hand, and their partner agrees to let them bid NT. A player who successfully makes a No Trump bid counts each trick taken by that player as double (normally 20 points).^[5]

10-for-200

Also known as Bidding A Flight or Wheels. Bidding 10-for-200 commits a side to win at least 10 tricks; if successful, the team scores 200 points. If the side wins fewer than 10 tricks, they lose 200 points.^[5][7] Some play a lost bid only loses 100, not 200. In some variations, to make a 10-for-200 bid, the side must win exactly 10 tricks. If a team pulls more than 10 the extra tricks are still bags or "ob's" Some play that any bid of 10 is automatically a 10-for-200 bid. In some places the 10-for-200 bid is called 10-for-2, which is written on the score sheet as 10-4-2. Another way of writing the 200 score is with the two zeros linked together at the top; this is called Wheels, as the zeroes are supposed to look like train wheels. Making this bid is also significant in that the other team is automatically set if Nils are not allowed, since they would not even make Board, thus the winning team will be ahead by at least 240 points (200 for the score + 40 point penalty of the other team).

Big & Little Moe

A series of bids where the partnership states their intention to take, respectively, eight or six tricks consecutively. Any capture of a trick by opponents "resets" the count. A partnership bidding Big Moe and capturing eight tricks in a row gains 300 points; one bidding Little Moe and capturing six tricks in a row gains 150 points. Bags or overtricks, if applicable, are not counted.

Bemo

A specialization of Big & Little Moe bidding, bidding Little Bemo commits the team to win all of the first six tricks. It is additional to the normal bid; the team scores an extra bonus of 60 if successful and loses 60 if not. Big Bemo similarly commits the team that bids it to win the first nine tricks; they score a 90 point bonus if successful and lose 90 if not.^[5]

Blind 6

This must be declared by a side before either partner looks at their cards. It scores 120 points if the side takes exactly 6 tricks. If they take some other number of tricks they lose 120. It is also commonly played that the side must win at least six tricks and overtricks are not counted, or that failing to make six tricks only loses 60.^[5]

Trailing Blind Bids

Only a player or partnership that is 100 points behind the leader may make blind bids of any kind, and they are scored at 20 points per bid trick, with no overtricks scored. Failing a blind contract is penalized at the normal 10 points per trick bid. Played with or without Jokers.

No Nines, No Blinds

A variation of partnership bidding - neither blind bids nor a cumulative bid of 9 is allowed. This can make the game more competitive since a partnership with a strong hand has to either bid an 8 or 10-for-200, risking "overbidding" their hand and teams cannot catch up through Trailing Blind Bids.

Boston

Also known as Shooting The Moon or Slamming. Related to but opposite of a Double Nil bid. If a team bids to take all the tricks in a hand and does so, that team wins the game outright regardless of the score before the hand. A team cannot bid to Shoot The Moon if the other team bids Double Nil, and vice versa.^[5]

Boston On Fire

Also known as Blind Moon or a Grand Slam. This is a blind bid to take all tricks in a hand, made before either partner has looked at their cards. Again, the first team to bid either Double Blind Nil or Blind Moon has precedence.^[5]

Lexington

Similar to Boston but 12 tricks are made. Variations include automatically scoring 240 points regardless the bid.

Half Tricks

In this variation, the first partner of a team to bid may, if he chooses, bid tricks in increment of one-half instead of one, i.e. "I bid three-and-one-half". His partner is then required to bid such that the team bid rounds out to a whole number, i.e. "I'll bid two-and-one-half" for a team bid of six tricks. This gives some information between partners; a player is bidding that they will take three tricks and might take a fourth. Their partner can then use this fact in determining the other half of the partnership's bid.

Suicide

Played by four players, playing as partners. Each player must bid either Nil or at least four tricks. The second player to bid in each partnership may either bid the opposite, i.e., Nil if partner bid four or more, or may bid what their partner bid, thus forcing their partner to take the opposite bid.

Another version of Suicide is played by four players, playing as partners. The bidding is the same as normal, except that one person in each team is forced to bid nil, so if the leading partner does not bid nil they must do so. This limits the hands which the first and second person want to bid a non-Nil amount, as if they do not have the ace of spades, they cannot place it and therefore risk having it in their partner's hand.

Whiz

In this variant, each player must bid the exact number of spades in their hand or go Nil. There is no minimum amount for teams to bid. Blind bidding is not allowed, however bags are counted as usual.

Mirrors

Related to Whiz, Each player must bid the number of spades in their hand. Players do not have the option to go Nil unless they have no Spades and must bid Nil if this is the case. Bags are counted as normal.

Trump variations

Breaking Spades

Borrowed from Hearts, a player may not lead a Spade until a Spade has been played as a trump card (when a non-Spade was led), unless he or she has only Spades.

Deuces High

All 2s count as the highest spades. The order becomes, highest to lowest : 2♠, 2♦, 2♣, 2♥, then all the rest of the spades, Ace through 3. There is another variation, when playing with the Jokers, that the 2♦ and the 2♠ are high trumps, then Ace, King, etc. When the deck being used does not contain Jokers, or contains Jokers of the same size, the 2♥ becomes the Big Joker and the 2♣ becomes the Little Joker. There is a variation where the Aces can be called high (value of 14) or low (value of 1).^{[citation needed]}

Jokers High aka Easy Spades

Both Jokers are positioned as the highest Spades. So instead of just 13 spades, there are now 15 spades. This in effect takes the Queens out of question, meaning one need not bother to question whether the queen will win a trick, it will most likely not. With more spades and removing the question from the queens makes this variation an easier game to play. If both jokers are played in one trick, the Big Joker beats the Little Joker. A related variation is Joker-Joker-Deuce-Ace in which the ranking is Big Joker, Little Joker, 2♠ and A♠. With 3 players, the Jokers are added and no cards are removed; with 4 players, the 2♣ and either 2♥ or 2♦ are taken out, or, similar to their use in Euchre, can replace the J♠ and J♣.

Jokers High Alternate

Similar to Jokers High above, if the Big Joker is led, opponents must play their highest spade in that trick. If the Big Joker is played during a hand, opponents are not forced to play their highest spade. This variation makes bidding more complex, as one cannot count on their highest spade as winning a trick, Big Joker excepted. This variation is commonly played with all 54 cards, using the Kitty dealing variation above.

Jokers High First Played Wins

Both Jokers are used and count as the highest Spade. If both jokers are played in one trick, the one played first takes the trick.

Bauer Trumps

Adapted from 500 and Euchre, highest trump is the J♠, known as the right bauer. Second highest trump is J♣, being the same color and known as the Left Bauer. The rest of the cards follow normal order. Alternatively, and similar to the above, both Jacks can be replaced with two Jokers, making them more distinctive.

Differentiated Trump Values

Suits are given special trump value, with Spades being the highest trump. General order is ♠, ♣, ♦, and ♥. When played this way, there is no off-suit; the suit is either more or less valuable than the led suit, and if more valuable it trumps any card played in that suit.

Gameplay variations

Cancellation Spades

3 teams of 2 players play with 2 decks minus both 2♥. The 2♦ is the highest spade followed by the 2♣ and Ace♠. They must follow the spades suit rules. If identical cards are played in a round, they cancel and cannot take the trick. Tricks won by no one are "dead" and discarded. Successful nil bids score 50. Double nil scores 200. No blind bid bonuses. Missed bids cost 10 points for each trick short—getting 3 of 5 means −20 points. Tricks taken by a nil do not count towards a non-nil bid and are penalized 10 points each. Extra tricks get 1 point—no penalties for sandbags. Game is six hands with each player dealing once. Optionally, 8 players can share two full decks with nils worth 30 and double nils worth 100.

Passing Cards

Each team passes one card with their partner each hand. This rule is normally applied only to Nil bids and it is most frequently used to allow players to exchange two cards if a Blind Nil bid is made.

First Trick Clubs

This rule is borrowed from a common variation of Hearts rules. Whoever possesses the lowest Club, usually 2♣, 3♣ (if deuces are high), must open the play. Other players can play any card except Spades on the first trick, unless the player has nothing but Spades (rare, as the player would have to have been dealt every Spade in the deck).

First Trick Lowest Club

This rule is an elaboration of the preceding First Trick Clubs rule. Whoever possesses the lowest Club, usually 2♣, 3♣ (if a three-hand game), must open the play. Each player must then play their lowest club to the first trick. Play proceeds normally from the second trick.

Speed-Spades a.k.a. Philadelphia a.k.a. Quakers

The players agree to play each trick within a certain time frame, with each player required to make a play on a one- or two- second count. This is a game of pressure designed to induce mistakes, to increase the pace of a slow game, or both. Often the players will shout "Speed Spades!" as the start of each trick.

Play To Beat a.k.a. Must Trump

A Pinochle-based variant, if a player cannot follow suit but can beat a Spade played as trump (when a Spade was not led), he must play the "overtrump". Sometimes this rule extends this to even having to beat a player’s partner, but this generally only applies to beating the other team’s trump. If a player is caught breaking this rule, all points won by the team that broke the rule during the round are awarded to the opposing team.

End Winning Streak

If one player wins last three tricks of the round, it is worth either 3 points or 30. Some varieties include awarding points for winning the last four or five tricks with same point gauge. If this rule is enforced, and an opposing team ends a possible streak by taking the last trick, the points may be awarded to that team instead of the team who had the streak.

Dix

If the 9♠ wins a trick, it is worth 1 point. If the 9 wins a trick with at least one other Spade in play, worth 5 points. If the 9 wins a Spade-led trick, it is worth 10 points. This is borrowed from Pinochle where in the melding phase, a 9 of trumps is worth 10 points.

Last Trick Ace Victory

Bonus points (1 or 10) are awarded for winning the last round with any Ace. 20 points for winning with the Ace of Spades.

Last Trick Ace On Nil

Bonus points, usually one-fifth of agreed nil value, are awarded for making a nil bid and playing an ace on the last trick.

Last Trick Deuce Victory

Bonus points (30) are awarded for winning the last round with a non-trump two.

Last Trick High Spade Victory

A player who takes the very last trick with a high Spade (9♠ or above), and with that trick exactly makes their bid, receives a 10 point bonus. There is no bonus if the player bags or is short.

Nil In The Dark

A player who bids Nil In The Dark shuffles their cards and puts them face down in front of them in a stack. When it is their play, they take the top card and throw it into the pile. The scoring counts the same as Blind Nil. A player may also go Blind Nil In The Dark where they never even look at their cards. This is scored the same as double blind. Nil In The Dark is usually only bid if they have no trump cards.

Scoring variations

No Overs

One game variation does not count overtricks. In this case the player or team receives only 10 points for each trick that was bid and no points for overtricks. This changes the bidding strategy; it is only possible to lose points by being "set" on a bid, as there is no penalty for "bagging out", so players will attempt to "set" the leading player or team in order to gain ground. Similarly, players or teams will bid lower to avoid being set as there is no penalty for taking too many overtricks.

Double Over, Double Back

Instead of, or perhaps in addition to, penalizing players who "bag out", a common variant is for players or teams who take at least double the number of bid tricks will be penalized by subtracting double the value of their contract. A team who bids 2 tricks and takes 4 tricks or more will lose 40 points. This is often combined with the "No Overs" scoring style to discourage small bids.

Oh Hell Variation

Like Oh Hell, partnerships must take exactly the number of tricks bid. If they have overtricks, the team is penalized and the contract is broken. Some play where if the team bids 5 tricks and wins exactly 5 tricks, the contract is honored no matter which player made how many tricks, while others force each player to exactly meet their contract.

Quicksand

A variation of penalizing overtricks, a team who exactly makes their contract gets full value. Overtricks subtract 10 points each from that value, and teams who do not make their contract subtract 10 points for each missed trick. For instance, consider a bid of 7 tricks. If the team made exactly 7 tricks, they would earn the full 70 points. If they only took 5 tricks, they would lose 20 points. If the team made 9 tricks, they would earn the 70 points, −20 points for the two overtricks, resulting in a score of 50 points.

Broken Contract Gives Points To Opposing Team

This is an additional variant taken from Bridge and used with an auction-style bidding. If the declarer (the player or partner with the winning bid) fails to meet the contract, the defending pair receives 10 points for each undertrick (the number of tricks by which declarer fell short of the goal). Instead of the declaring team losing points, they should receive zero.

Deficient Ends The Game

If one team's cumulative score is less than the negative of the winning score, that team has lost. For example, if before the game, the winning score is set at 500 points, then either team that manages to net a score of −500 points or below automatically loses.

Highlander Scoring

The points awarded function slightly differently than in conventional Spades. Highlander Scoring merges partnership playing with individual team effort. Sandbagging does not apply with this type of game play, although sandbagging could be included. Each partner makes a bid of the tricks they think they can win. Each partner must win the total they individually bid; if not, that player's bid value is deducted from the team's score even if their partner took enough trick to make up the difference. :For example, if Tom bids 5 tricks and wins 4 tricks, and Harry (his partner) bids 3 tricks and wins 4 tricks, 80 points is deducted from the partnership's total score even though the team won their promised 8 tricks, because Tom did not make his bid. However, Harry is awarded five points per overtrick, so they are −75 points instead of −80 points. If the contract is broken and no overtricks were taken, the team is down the full amount of the bid. If both made their contract and have won overtricks, they are awarded five extra points per overtrick. Team that wins seven or more tricks per round is given 10 points the first time, 20 points the second, and each time thereafter the points increase by 10. This encourages race-style play where players set out to take as many tricks as they can as long as they do not steal tricks their partner needs.

Individual Team Players

If both teammates get their exact individual bid, they are given a bonus equal to half the total bid (rounded down to the nearest 10 to avoid interference with bags). For example, Tom bids 3 tricks, Harry bids 4 tricks. If Tom wins 3 tricks and Harry wins 4 tricks, 30 bonus points are awarded to that team (added to the 70 points for contract for a total of 100 points on the hand).

Sandbags 0-Till-10

Some players use the last digit of the score to count sandbags, but do not regard that digit as being part of the score. For example, as score of 54 points translates to 50 recordable points with 4 sandbags. In this manner, sandbags are in effect worth nothing until a player accumulates 10 of them, at which point they trigger a 100 point deduction. Bags are thus kept separate from the score and cannot be used as a tiebreaker.

Sandbag Cancellation

Some people play that there is a special card which cancels one bag on that hand for the side that takes it in their tricks. If the side which wins the special card makes no overtricks, or loses their bid, the special card has no effect. The special card may be either a fixed card or may be determined afresh by cutting a card before each deal.

Sandbags Negative Value

Tricks in excess of the contract (overtricks or sandbags) may be worth −1 point each rather than +1 point. In this case the penalty for accumulating 10 overtricks generally does not apply.

Seven Tricks Or Higher!

For successful bids of seven or more, players get an extra 10 points for each trick bid above six. So, if 7 tricks are bid by a player and that contract is made exactly, 80 bonus points are awarded. 8 tricks award 100 points, 9 tricks award 120 points, etc. This method of scoring rewards players who are more daring.

Seven Tricks Or Higher! Part Deux

Team that bids and then wins 7 tricks per round is given 10 points the first time, 20 points the second, and each time thereafter the points increase by 10 points. Overtricks do not count.

Win The Last Trick!

Taken from Bela and Pinochle, the winner of last trick wins 10 bonus points. Generally this variation is not recommended if one is playing with bonus tricks.

Leading with the Ace of spades

Depending on the region in which the game is played this is permitted.

Number of players

Traditionally Spades is played with four players in two partnerships. However, there are variations that allow for greater or fewer players. Partnerships are optional even with four players. All other rules should be agreed upon beforehand by the players.

Solo Spades

Solo Spades is like regular Spades, just without the partnership. This is also known as "Cut Throat Spades".

Two Players

In this variation, the cards are not dealt at the beginning of the game. Instead, the deck is placed face down and the players take turns drawing two cards with each turn. Once drawn, players must choose one card of the pair to discard and one to keep. This continues until the deck is exhausted after which, each player will possess 13 cards. The game then proceeds normally. :A variation of this deal is to decide whether or not to keep the first card drawn. If the player decides to keep the first card, the second card may be looked at, but must be discarded. If the player decides to discard the first card, the second card must be kept. This variation introduces a greater degree of chance into the game. To add an even greater degree of chance, forbid viewing of the second card if the first card is kept. This gives both players less certainty as to which cards their opponent is holding.

Three Players

There are no partnerships; players play for themselves. A standard 52 card deck is used, and each player is dealt 17 cards with a predetermined card thrown out (usually the 2♣) or the last undealt card thrown out. Some play with the Big and Little Joker included as the highest trumps, with each person getting 18 cards.

Five Players

There are no partnerships; players play for themselves. 2♦ and 2♥ are removed from the deck and each player is dealt 10 cards. Alternatively, if three Jokers are available, they may be added as either highest trump or as junk cards, thus dealing each player 11 cards each.

Six Players

This can be played either solo, three partnerships, or two teams of three. Two standard 52 card decks are combined, with both 2♣ discarded (102 cards, 17 each), two cards discarded (or kept as a kitty), or all four Jokers added (108 cards, 18 each). Prior to the beginning of play, players agree on the protocol when identical cards are played. Some play that the first such played card wins the trick while others play that the last played card wins the trick. Alternatively, 6-handed play can be done with a 48 card deck, having removed all the 2s. It can also be done with a 52 card deck plus two Jokers, similar to three-handed but with half the cards per player.

Seven Or More Players

Beyond six players, the game becomes either very complex, or hard to maintain with multiple decks. An additional side effect of an increased number of players is a short game, as the number of cards held by each player is reduced and high trump is more and more likely to take the trick. Seven players should normally be split into groups of four and three, eight players into two groups of four players, nine players into either groups of four and five players, or three groups of three players.

Reneging

A partnership reneges on their contract if they violate the rules of play; most often this happens when a player plays off-suit when they could have, and therefore should have, followed suit. The penalty for reneging varies; in most cases it nullifies that team's contract (the team cannot make their contract and their score is reduced by 10 points for each bid trick), while sometimes reneging results in a three-trick penalty, meaning the team may still make contract but must take three additional tricks to do so. It does not matter if the player reneges on purpose. The bags still count against the opposing team, and will go against their points. On the other-hand if a team calls reneg and that team cannot prove or call out the hand that was a potential reneg, then the team that called out the false accusation is penalized the three-trick penalty.

"The Rest Are Mine" (TRAM)

It is accepted in most games for a player who knows that they will definitely take all remaining tricks in a hand to simply lay down his or her hand and declare "the rest are mine". A valid scenario in which this could happen may be that a player holds KQJ9♠ with 4 tricks to go, and the A♠ and 10♠ have already been played. Similarly, if all Spades have been played, a player leading who holds AK♣KQJ♦ can call TRAM. In these cases, regardless of the card the player chooses to lead with, no other player will be able to beat the card and take the trick (as there is no higher unplayed card in the suit or no higher trump, or the leading player holds the only possible "overcard"). The leading player will thus take the trick and lead again, with the same result. TRAM-ing in such a situation speeds up the play of a game, but most situations require players to pay careful attention to the cards played during the hand. It is never required to call "TRAM", and this should only be done when a player is absolutely sure he/she will definitely take all of the remaining tricks. A player who calls TRAM falsely is forced to play the remainder of the round with his hand exposed, and if his or her partner bid Nil, the partner is generally considered to have failed the bid if there is any way the partner could be made to take a trick (even if this did not happen) in the remaining tricks. (This special handling of Nil exists to prevent false TRAM as a degenerate way of sharing information with a partner in Nil.)

Terminology

• Trick - A unit of play in which each player lays one card from their hand, and is "taken" or won usually by the player who laid down the highest value card.
• Book - in Spades, this is synonymous with "trick"; however other trick-taking games have a different definition.
• Hand - A series of tricks in which all cards dealt to each player are played.
• Bid - The number of tricks each player will take during a hand, announced by each player in term before a hand begins. The bid is the sum of each team members single bid and is used to determine the total "team bid." The bid equals the total number of tricks the team must win, or risk being set (falling short of the bid) or taking sandbags, or bags (taking more tricks than were bid).
• Partnership - A pair of players when playing with an even number; their bids and taken tricks are summed.
• Team - largely synonymous with "partnership", but when playing with six or more a team can comprise more than two players.
• Contract - The result of a player's or partnership's bids for the hand; they are required to take at least that number of tricks during play of the hand.
• Set - To be unable to take the number of tricks required by a contract, usually because the opposing players have taken enough tricks that there are fewer remaining tricks than are needed.
• Undertrick - A trick that a partnership needed in order to make contract, but didn't take. The term is used more in scoring than in play; a pair who bid 6 but only took five has an undertrick, while a specific trick in play that the partners need to take from a tactical standpoint is simply a "must-have" or "must-win".
• Bag - an "overtrick"; a trick taken by a player or partnership when their contract has already been met. The importance of bags or overtricks varies depending on house rules; generally, taking too many overtricks incurs a penalty, but the taking of some overtricks can be good strategy.
• (To) Follow Suit - to play a card of the same suit as the first card played to a trick. As in many trick-taking games, Spades players are required to follow suit if they are able.
• Void - To not have any card in a particular suit or suits, or to intentionally exhaust them from one's hand. A player must be void in at least one suit in order to play Spades as trump, and therefore will try to void their hand of a suit in which they hold few cards.
• Trump - a suit or other subset of cards in the deck that is of higher value than all others. Most games in the Whist family use a trump suit; in Spades, it is always the Spade suit. The term also refers to the playing of a trump card.^[4]
• Slough (Sluff) - to play a card that is not a trump card but of different suit than the first suit played, therefore discarding that card. Sloughing is normally used to get rid of a card that may otherwise take a trick the player does not wish to take. It can also be used to void other suits allowing play of trump cards in tricks where that suit is led.
• Honor Cards - Refers to the top four or five cards in each suit, A, K, Q, J and 10.
• Nil - A Bid to win no tricks at all in any hand. A special bid for which there is usually a bonus if the nil is achieved and a penalty if it is defeated by forcing the one who bid Nil to take a trick in any given hand.
• Renege - When a player can follow suit but does not, it is considered cheating and is often penalized with three books awarded to the opposing team.

Computer Spades Games

A number of free and low-cost games are available which allow an individual to play Spades against a computer, mostly for smart phones and tablets. These can be found by searching the app sources for such devices. A few Spades games are also available for desktop computers. Most of the computer games play partnership Spades where a computer player is your partner against two computer opponents. A few games support solo/cutthroat play.

Some web sites offer Spades play online, against either computer or live opponents. Some sites offer tournament play with prizes. The current online Spades sites can be found by searching for "play spades online".

Similar Games

There are a few varieties of Spades. One of the most popular versions is Tarneeb, played mostly in the Middle East. The main alteration between the two is that Tarneeb uses all four suits, not just Spades, therefore the game may be considered a variation of Whist. Tarneeb, (Arabic: طرنيب)‎ means "trump".^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Ace of Spades
• Bid Whist
• Vint
• Setback (card game)

References

External links

• McLeod, John, ed., Spades