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Spades·Card Games
Spades
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Each trick above the bid is a bag, worth 1 point but tracked cumulatively. Every 10 bags costs 100 points.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that a bag is awarded only for tricks over 10, which leads to disputes when they hit exactly 10 and think no points are earned until the next trick. The confusion arises because the rule states each trick above the bid counts as a bag, not just those over 10, making it tricky to keep track without misunderstanding.
Spades cannot be led until they have been "broken" — played on a trick where the leader could not follow suit. The exception is a player holding nothing but spades.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that you can lead Spades whenever you want in a game of Spades just because they're trump cards, but actually, you can only break Spades (play them first) when it's impossible to follow suit with another card and you have no other choice but to play a Spade.
Meet or beat your team's combined bid: 10 points per trick bid.; Fall short: lose 10 points per trick bid — the whole bid, not the shortfall.
Why people argue about this
People often argue over whether they should have bid more tricks than their opponents did in a deal, thinking it's about outsmarting them, but actually it's all about meeting or beating your team’s combined bid to score points; if you don’t meet the total bid, you lose points equal to how many tricks were short of that total.
A player who bid nil is trying to win no tricks at all. Their partner plays the hand normally and may try to cover them.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that a player bidding "nil" is trying to win all the tricks with their own cards, which leads to misunderstandings about how their partner should play. The confusion arises because they overlook the official explanation that the nil bidder is actually attempting to lose all tricks, and their partner plays as usual without needing to cover them.
Play to 500 points, or to an agreed target.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that if they're playing to a target score like 500 points in Spades, they can just keep adding up until they hit that number, regardless of who wins or loses hands. But actually, the rule specifies you play to a total of 500 points across all deals (hands), not by simply accumulating scores from each hand independently.
You must follow suit if able. If not, you may play anything, including a spade.; The highest spade wins the trick; if none is played, the highest card of the suit led wins.; The trick's winner leads the next.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that if no spade is played in a trick, they must play another suit's card just to win it, forgetting about the highest spade winning outright. This misunderstanding stems from conflating the trump rule with the specific instruction for playing tricks when none of the led suit's cards are available.
One standard 52-card deck, no jokers in the base game.; Cards rank ace (high) down to two.; Spades are permanently trump — there is no trump selection.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that since Spades is always trump, they can discard all non-club cards at once if they have a strong hand of spades. But actually, you must follow suit unless you cannot, in which case you play a card from another suit, including spades, to avoid losing the trick. This rule prevents players from exploiting what they perceive as an advantage by discarding irrelevant cards early.
Four players in two partnerships, partners seated opposite.; Deal the whole deck — 13 cards each.; Starting left of the dealer, each player bids the number of tricks they expect. The team bid is the sum of both partners'.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that the deal is done by dealing out 13 cards each, which they believe means splitting the deck into two equal halves of 6.5 cards per person. However, the actual rule states that you deal out the entire deck, so each player receives exactly 13 cards, not half a card more or less.
Spades cannot be led until they have been "broken" — played on a trick where the leader could not follow suit. The exception is a player holding nothing but spades.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that Spades can be led as soon as they are dealt, without needing a lead from another suit first. However, the actual rule is that Spades must wait until they've been "broken," meaning played on a trick where no player could follow with their own suit, ensuring fairness and strategic depth in gameplay.
Each trick above the bid is a bag, worth 1 point but tracked cumulatively. Every 10 bags costs 100 points.
Why people argue about this
People often argue over whether a trick is scored immediately after it's won or if it gets accumulated until the end of the hand before being added to the running total. They also misunderstand that while each individual trick above the bid counts as 1 point, every 10 tricks (or "bags") counted this way adds up to 100 points, which is a significant penalty for not managing their score effectively.
Cutthroat (three-handed): no partnerships, everyone scores for themselves.; Two-handed spades: a draw-based variant for two players.; Jokers: two jokers added as the highest trumps, with two low cards removed.
Why people argue about this
People often assume that in cutthroat spades (three-handed), players must form partnerships like in traditional spades games, but they actually play as individual competitors scoring directly against each other. This can lead to arguments about team dynamics and strategy when everyone is focused solely on their own score.