How do you play Spades card game?

Spades is played with a standard 52-card deck. The cards are ranked as follows (from highest to lowest): A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and finally 2. Suits, like in other trick-taking card contests, have a hierarchy.

Spades is a four-player game. Popular variations of the game allow for two, three, six, or even eight players to participate. The four players in the standard game of spades play in two fixed partnerships.

All play (including the first deal) proceeds clockwise around the table. On opposite sides of the playing table, partners sit across from one another.

The Deal

The game's first dealer can be chosen at random, but it's also common to choose the first deal by cutting the cards. The transaction, like all gameplay, moves clockwise.

To begin the game, the cards are shuffled and dealt one at a time (again, clockwise), beginning with the player on the dealer's left side. The deck is dealt out, leaving each player with 13 cards.

The BId
After the cards are dealt, players must examine their hand to decide how to bid. Spades bidding is not as difficult as some trick-taking games, but it does require some study and practice to master.

In spades, all four players bid on the number of rounds they expect to win (known as "tricks"). The total bid of a team is the sum of the bids of both partners. In order to score points, the team must then collect that number of tricks. The strategy section below discusses bidding strategy, which is an important part of winning real money with spades.

Bidding begins to the left of the dealer. Everyone makes a bid ranging from 0 to 13 tricks. A 0 bid is equivalent to passing. These are referred to as "nil" bids and are difficult to complete.

A successful nil bid will earn the partnership bonus points for success, but will also result in a penalty if the nil bid fails. The partner of the player who bids nil should still be able to meet their bid total.

Many house spades rules allow you to bid "blind nil" to score 200 points all at once. To achieve that high score, the player is not permitted to see their cards prior to making this bid. Many variants of the game require a team to be down by at least 200 points before making a nil bid.

Playing a hand

The player to the dealer's left initiates play. In the first trick, this player may lead any card except a spade. The game is played clockwise around the table. If possible, players should follow suit. If a player cannot follow suit, he may play any card.
The trump suit (spades), like in other trump-style games, cannot be played until certain conditions are met. The trump suit must be "broken" in spades, which means it must be played after the lead of a different suit. Another situation that breaks spades is when a trick leader has only spades in their hand and is unable to make a different play.

You can play spades online with your friends. No download is required. Good luck and have fun.