Playing Spades: Strategies of the Game
OK – you have some idea of how the game is played, so here are some strategies to help you in winning a game of Spades:
1. Bidding accurately is important. Generally, a normal distribution of cards will result in one side getting 7 books and the other side getting the remaining 6. The challenge of Spades lies in the fact that most hands are not normal, but will invariably give each player more cards in a certain suit.In order to offer an accurate bid of your own hand, you should play out the game in your head to account for such a possibility. You might want to count both the Ace and King of Diamonds, but if your hand is loaded with low Diamond cards, the chances are not good that the King will survive a second round. Queens and Jacks rarely survive, but do make for good cards to ‘force out’ an opponent’s trump cards. Only count Aces and Kings if you are not saddled with more than 4 or 5 cards in that suit.
Only bid what you know until you become more confident in your abilities. Count the Aces and Kings in the non-trump suits, then assume at least one cut for every two Spades in your hand. Obviously the Ace of Spades will earn you a book, but stick to the 2/1 strategy for every other Spade. The more accurate you become at bidding, the faster you will move up in points. If you notice a pattern of underbidding books, get more aggressive with your bidding, but within reason.
2. Know when to cut and when to throw off. The first few hands of a Spades game usually follow a predictable pattern- one player leads off with a high card in a non-trump suit, and the rest of the players throw off their lowest cards in that suit. But after the first few rounds, the game gets much more strategic. Players who do not hold any cards in the suit may opt to ‘cut’ the hand with a spade (trump) card and win the hand, or they may throw off a non-suit card and allow their partner to win the book. This decision can ultimately make the difference between making the final bid or not. What you want to consider is the potential payoff if you do indeed cut the book in your favor. Your partner may already know that you were going to trump that hand, so you won’t hurt his or her bids by cutting. But if your partner throws out a fairly high card in that suit and you haven’t seen signs of cutting from either opponent, it’s best to throw off a non-suit card. Besides guaranteeing a book for your team, you can also increase the possibility of cutting the other suit later.
A good partner will sometimes feed you a card in a suit he or she knows you are cutting, but a beginning partner may not be so observant. If you suspect that your partner has not been paying attention to the cards previously played, you may want to cut for self-protection. One rule for cutting with a trump card, especially in the early rounds, is only go as high as you need. Often a two or three of spades is all that is required to win the hand- save your higher spades for bigger stakes. The exception to this would be if you and your partner are trying for a higher bid, like 8, 9 or 10 books. The last thing you’ll want to do is cut your own partner out of a book, so if you have the King of Spades, you may want to cut an early hand with it to prevent later head-bumping.
3. Always keep a running count of your opponent’s cards. If your opponent throws out a high card in a non-trump suit early, chances are that they are going to begin cutting that suit soon. Advanced players will sometimes do this as a ruse, but most players will instinctively throw out their lowest cards when the book is obviously going to their opponents. If you have no other choice, you’ll throw out a face card earlier than expected. Observant players will avoid that suit as much as possible. One way to see what your opponents are thinking is to throw out a Queen in a suit that has already been lead. Queens are usually not counted as a guaranteed book, but will sometimes survive a third run in that suit. Since your opponents won’t want to lose the book, they may start cutting, which settles the question of who is cutting which suit. If your partner is the one cutting the suit, he or she will most likely blow off a non-trump card. If this happens, and you do get the lead, then lead out in that suit again and watch what your partner does. Expect a fairly high trump card, followed either by a higher trump from your opponent. Either option should prove expensive for the competition.
4. The one thing you don’t want to do is cut your own partner out of a winning book. In order to avoid this, many partners develop a signal that lets the other know to play a higher card. If you get the lead in a later round of Spades and you want to know if your partner is holding the Ace, lead out with the lowest Spade you have. The two is especially effective for a signalling device. This will let your partner know that you expect he or she to throw out their highest card. With luck, that will be the Ace or King. If it isn’t, and you lose that book, at least you know that the remaining cards can’t hurt you. The Ace or Big Joker was bound to capture a book, so it’s usually best to sacrifice a lower spade to spare the life of a Jack, Queen or King.
There are many other tricks you’ll discover as you get more experienced with the game of Spades, but these basic tips should keep you afloat while you learn the ropes. Be aware of various playing styles, and try not to fall victim to aggressive players. Some players will deliberately save Aces and Kings of non-trump suits in order to get a better shot at stealing a book or two later. Some partners are known to overbid or underbid consistently, so take that into consideration before committing your team to a final bid.
But whatever you do, just try to have fun with Spades as you pass the time away with friends and family. Everyone loses a hand now and then, so let the cards fall where they may and just enjoy the companionship.
