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Spades Strategy and Tips
Spades is won by the partnership that makes its bids, sets the other team and keeps its bags down. These seven ideas follow the rules Varaq plays by default: spades are always trump, a team scores 10 per book bid, and ten bags cost 100. Each one links to a lesson moment where you play it on a real table.
Which cards should you count in Spades?
Count the high cards and the spades as they are played. Once every higher card of a suit has fallen and no other player can cut it with a spade, your card is sure to win a book, so lead it before you lose the lead.
- There are 13 spades; count them as they fall, because every spade still out can cut your winners in the other suits.
- A player who does not follow suit has none of that suit for the rest of the hand.
- Track the highest card left in each suit: once the A♦ and K♦ are gone, your Q♦ is the top diamond.
- Add your team’s books to your sure winners after every book, so you know whether your bid is safe.
Which suit should you lead to your partner?
Lead to your partner’s strength. A partner with no cards of a suit can cut it with a spade, so lead that suit while they still hold one. You learn your partner is out of a suit when they cut it or throw another suit on it.
- Lead the suit early: once your partner’s spades are gone, so is the cut.
- Leading your own spades first can pull out your partner’s last spade and waste the cut.
- If the opponent who plays after your partner is out of the suit too, they may cut higher, so the lead is less safe.
- Your partner’s bid is a clue: a high bid often means spades to cut with.
When should you cut with a spade?
Cut when a book matters and nothing else in your hand can win it: when it makes your team’s bid or sets the other team. Cut with a spade high enough that no player still to play can beat it.
- Count both bids: a book that sets the other team is worth as much as one that makes yours.
- Setting a team that bid 8 turns their +80 into −80, a swing of 160 points.
- If the player after you may also be out of the suit, cut high enough that they cannot cut over you.
- Remember that playing a spade breaks spades, so either team may lead spades afterwards.
Should you cut a book your partner is already winning?
No. A spade is worth most when it wins a book your team would otherwise lose. When your partner is already winning and you cannot follow suit, throw your lowest card and keep the spade for later.
- A card thrown on another suit can never win the book, so throw your least useful one.
- Throw the last cards of a short suit: once you are out of it, you can cut it later.
- If an opponent still to play could beat your partner’s card, cutting may be right after all; check who plays after you.
- Every spade you keep is a book you can win later, when your team would otherwise lose it.
Should you play high or low when your partner is winning?
Play low. When your partner is already winning the book, play your lowest card of the suit. Your high card then wins a book of its own later, instead of landing on your partner’s.
- Two winners on one book waste a card: your team takes one book instead of two.
- Play low when no card still to come can beat your partner, as when the higher cards of the suit are gone.
- If an opponent still to play could beat your partner, play high enough to keep the book for your team.
- Keeping your high card also keeps a way to win the lead later in the hand.
How do you protect your partner’s Nil?
A Nil scores 100 only if your partner takes no book. Lead your highest cards in the suits your partner may still hold, so their high cards fall safely under yours, and overtake their card whenever it is winning a book.
- A Nil is scored on its own: your own bid alone is your team’s bid, and a Nil bidder’s books never count toward it.
- A failed Nil costs 100 points, more than most bids are worth, so protecting it can come before an extra book of your own.
- Suits your partner has run out of are safe for them; lead the suits where they may still hold a high card.
- The other team will lead low cards to catch your partner, so keep your high cards to cover those books.
Is it worth taking a bag to set the other team?
Usually, yes. Once your bid is made, an extra book is only a bag: 1 point now, and 100 off for every ten. Setting the other team costs them 10 points for every book they bid, so take the book that sets them.
- Count how many books the other team still needs, and how many books are left to play.
- A set swings twice: a team that bid 5 loses 50 instead of scoring 50, a 100-point swing.
- Check your bag count first: with 9 bags, one more costs you 100, so weigh that against the set.
- If the set is out of reach, play low instead and avoid needless bags.
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