Bid with a computer partner, manage your bags, and race two opponents to 500 points.
Last updated July 22, 2026
Spades is a four-player trick-taking card game built around partnership, prediction, and careful use of trump. You sit South and share a score with the computer player at North. The East and West players form the opposing team. A standard 52-card deck is dealt evenly, giving every player 13 cards. Each player bids the number of tricks they expect to take, then the partners' ordinary bids combine into one team contract for the hand.
Spades are always trump, so a spade beats any card from hearts, diamonds, or clubs. The player who leads a trick chooses its first suit, and everyone who can follow that suit must do so. A player without the led suit may discard another suit or play a spade. The highest spade wins a trick that contains trump; otherwise, the highest card in the suit led wins. Spades cannot be led until they have been broken by trumping another suit, unless the leader holds only spades.
Bidding gives every hand its tension. A team that reaches its combined contract earns 10 points for each trick bid and one point for each extra trick, called a bag. Missing the contract costs 10 points for each trick bid. Bags carry between hands, and every set of 10 bags causes an immediate 100-point penalty before the remainder carries forward. A player may bid Nil, promising to take no tricks for a 100-point bonus; taking even one trick makes that Nil fail for a 100-point penalty.
This version plays a complete deterministic match against three transparent computer players at one Standard level. The dealer rotates after every hand, bidding and the opening lead begin to the dealer's left, and a deal number recreates the same shuffle. The first partnership to reach 500 points leads the match to victory; if both teams cross the target on the same hand, the higher score wins, while an exact tie continues. There are no jokers, deuces-high rules, card passing, blind or double Nil, or cutthroat scoring in this standard partnership game.
A Spades hand moves from deal to bids, then through 13 tricks and partnership scoring. These steps cover every rule used at this table.
Begin with winners you can reasonably defend rather than the best possible outcome. High spades are strong, while an Ace in a side suit is often dependable before that suit is trumped. A King becomes safer when you also hold the Ace or several cards in that suit. Count those likely winners first, then consider where length or shortness may create another trick.
Avoid counting the same advantage twice. A short side suit can create a trumping chance, but only if you retain a spade and gain the lead at the right time. A long suit may produce a late winner, but opponents can trump it after becoming void. A sound bid leaves room for the uncertain cards instead of assuming every favorable break will happen.
Ordinary bids combine across North and South. If you bid four and your partner bids three, the team must take seven eligible contract tricks. Watch the shared progress rather than racing to satisfy only your own number. Once the partnership has made seven, additional tricks become bags even if one player personally took fewer tricks than expected.
Your partner's bid also changes the value of risk. A high partner bid may signal useful top cards or trump strength, allowing you to protect vulnerable winners. A low partner bid means your ambitious estimate carries more of the contract. You cannot see your partner's cards, so use the bid and each public play as information without assuming a specific hidden holding.
A Nil bid is worth 100 points, but one accidental trick loses the same amount. Low cards in several suits are helpful because opponents may lead those suits safely beneath you. A hand with an unprotected Ace, a lone King, or several medium spades is dangerous: those cards can be forced to win after lower exits disappear.
Look beyond the lowest card in each suit. A long suit can become hazardous when every smaller card has already been played, leaving your remaining card high. Short spades may be equally awkward because trump can win after you become void elsewhere. Strong Nil bidding considers the full 13-trick path, not just whether the opening hand contains many small ranks.
When North bids Nil, try to cover cards that might otherwise become winners. Leading a suit in which your partnership has room above the Nil card can help, and taking control lets you steer later leads away from danger. Notice the ranks already played so you know whether your partner's remaining card is becoming high.
Protection still competes with the ordinary team contract. Your partner's Nil tricks cannot count toward that contract, and a failed Nil trick becomes a bag instead. Do not sacrifice so many secure tricks that the partnership is set. The best protection wins necessary tricks while giving the Nil hand safe places to discard beneath the opponents.
To pressure an opponent's Nil, lead suits that may force out their low cards and raise what remains. Repeating a suit can be effective after the Nil bidder has already played near the bottom of it. If you can place a lower card beneath a dangerous card from that opponent, you may force the Nil bidder to take the trick.
Do not chase the 100-point Nil penalty blindly. A lead that attacks Nil may hand a valuable trick to the opposing partner or spend a winner your own contract needs. Compare the score swing: setting the ordinary contract, making your own bid, and avoiding a bag penalty can matter more than breaking Nil. Attack when the table position supports both goals.
An opening lead does more than offer one trick. A low card from length can preserve a high card and show where a suit is short. An Ace can secure a likely winner before an opponent becomes void, though immediately cashing every top card may give away control. Choose a lead that advances your bid while teaching you how the other hands are distributed.
Remember that the player left of the rotating dealer opens each hand, so no seat owns the first lead permanently. When another player leads, read the same clues in reverse. A repeated suit may signal length, a sudden trump may reveal a void, and a switch after winning can show that the previous suit has become unsafe.
Trumping a side suit breaks spades and unlocks trump leads for everyone. That can help a hand with strong spades draw opposing trump, but it can also expose medium spades to stronger ones. Before trumping, ask whether you need the trick, whether a discard would protect your bag total, and who is likely to control the next lead.
The first available trump is not automatically mandatory because being void gives you a choice. If the partnership already has enough tricks, discarding a dangerous side-suit winner may be better than creating another bag. If the contract is behind, even a small spade may be exactly the safe trick you need. Let the score and bid decide.
There are 13 spades in the deck. You know the ones in your hand and can count every spade played in public. As the total approaches 13, long side suits become more reliable because fewer opponents can trump them. You also learn whether a remaining high spade is certain to win or still sits beneath an unseen higher rank.
Exact counting is especially useful late in a hand, but a simple running estimate already improves decisions. Notice when several spades fall on one trick and when a player repeatedly follows suit without trumping. Those observations narrow the possible holdings and help you decide whether to lead trump, cash a side-suit winner, or save control for the end.
Every overtrick scores one point and adds one bag. That point seems harmless until the partnership reaches 10 bags and immediately loses 100 points. Track the running bag count throughout the match. With eight or nine bags, taking an unnecessary extra trick can erase the value of making a large contract on the same hand.
Bag avoidance is not the same as careless underplay. You must secure the contract before shedding winners, and an opponent may force a trick onto you. Once safe, lead low cards, avoid trumping automatically, and give opponents opportunities to take control. Failed Nil tricks also add bags, so a broken Nil can create both the 100-point Nil loss and a bag rollover.
Preventing the other team from reaching its contract costs it 10 points per trick bid, often a much larger swing than one additional bag. If East-West bid eight and are stuck on seven near the end, taking a seemingly unwanted trick may complete the set. The score gained through denial can justify accepting a bag.
Use the match score rather than a fixed rule. Near your own 10-bag penalty, a forced overtrick is expensive; near the opponents' 500-point finish, allowing their contract may end the match. Count the remaining tricks and compare both outcomes before deciding whether to duck or win. Good defense balances immediate contract pressure against long-term bag health.
Endgame play becomes clearer because fewer cards remain unknown. Count how many tricks each partnership still needs, which spades have not appeared, and who will lead after the current trick. A winning card used now may hand the next lead to the wrong seat, while holding it one round can create the exact sequence your contract needs.
Nil positions are even more precise late in the hand. If a Nil bidder has survived 10 tricks, identify every card that can still sit beneath that player's likely ranks. When Nil has already failed, stop spending tricks solely to attack it and return to the team contract and bag total. The score only rewards the final result, not how dramatic the attempt looked.
A deal number recreates the same opening shuffle, which makes replay useful for learning. Try a different bid and observe how it changes which tricks you must pursue. A hand that felt like a failed five bid may become a comfortable four, while a cautious bid may reveal that you were giving away dependable winners as bags.
The computer players use one deterministic Standard level and act from their own cards plus public table information. They do not need access to your hidden hand to make decisions. Replaying lets you compare choices on a stable deal, but it does not add blind Nil, jokers, passing, selectable difficulty, or other house rules that are outside this standard partnership version.
Bid how many tricks your partnership can take, make that contract, and outscore the opposing team. This match uses a 500-point target. If both teams reach it on the same hand, the higher score wins; an exact tie continues.
Four players use one standard 52-card deck, with 13 cards dealt to every seat. You play South, the North computer player is your partner, and the East and West computer players form the opposing partnership.
Yes. You must play the suit led whenever you hold it. If you are void in that suit, you may discard another suit or play a spade. The highest spade wins; without trump, the highest card of the led suit wins.
Spades may normally be led after someone has broken them by trumping a non-spade trick. Before that, a player may lead a spade only when the hand contains no card from another suit.
A made partnership contract earns 10 points per trick bid plus one point per overtrick. A missed contract loses 10 points per trick bid. Overtricks become bags, and every group of 10 bags immediately costs 100 points while the remainder carries.
Nil is a bid of zero and a promise by one player to take no tricks. Success adds 100 points and taking any trick subtracts 100. This game uses standard Nil, not blind Nil or double Nil.
No. A failed Nil bidder's tricks do not help the partner satisfy the ordinary partnership contract. Those tricks do count as team bags, including toward an immediate 10-bag penalty.
The dealer is selected deterministically for the opening hand and rotates after every hand. Bidding begins to the dealer's left, and that same seat leads the first trick. Each later trick is led by the previous trick's winner.
No. It uses an ordinary 52-card deck with Ace high and spades as trump. There are no jokers, deuces-high ranks, passing rounds, blind Nil, cutthroat mode, or selectable bot difficulty.
Yes. A deterministic deal number recreates the same starting shuffle, so you can revisit a bid or compare another line of play. The dealer then rotates and later hands use deterministic new shuffles as the match continues.