How to Play Spades — Card Game Rules for Beginners (2026)

Spades — Complete Rules for New Players

Spades is a popular partnership trick-taking card game where players bid on how many tricks they expect to take. It combines bidding strategy with trick-taking skill in a team format. The game is easy to learn but offers deep strategic play, making it perfect for both casual and competitive players.

Setup and Partnerships

Spades is played with four players in two partnerships (partners sit across from each other) using a standard 52-card deck. Deal all 52 cards so each player receives 13. Before play begins, each player independently bids the number of tricks they expect to take during the hand. Bids range from 0 (nil) to 13. The combined bids of each partnership form the team's contract for that hand.

Bidding Basics

Your bid represents how many tricks you believe you will take. Count your sure winners (aces and high kings) and probable winners (supported queens and high spades). A hand with three aces, two kings, and several high spades might warrant a bid of 5 or 6. Conservative bidding is often better than aggressive bidding because falling short of your bid is penalized heavily.

The Nil Bid

Bidding zero tricks is called a nil bid. If you take no tricks, your team earns 100 bonus points. If you take even one trick, your team loses 100 points. Nil bids work best when your hand has mostly low cards and few spades. Your partner will try to cover for you by winning tricks that might otherwise fall to you.

Playing Tricks

Play proceeds clockwise. The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. You must follow suit if possible. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card including a spade. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a spade is played — spades are the trump suit and beat all other cards. The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Scoring

If your team meets or exceeds your combined bid, you score 10 points per trick bid. Extra tricks (overtricks or sandbags) score 1 point each, but accumulating 10 sandbags costs your team 100 points. If your team falls short of your bid, you lose 10 points per trick bid. Games are typically played to 500 points.

Key Rules Summary

• 4 players in 2 partnerships, standard 52-card deck
• Spades are always trump
• Each player bids 0-13 tricks independently
• Must follow suit if possible
• Nil bid: 100 points for success, -100 for failure
• First team to 500 points wins

Play free Spades online in your browser on Mini Games Hub — no downloads needed.