December 9th, 2008

Spades the Online Card Game

Spades players meet at various sites, and from social games, to advanced games the rooms always have a large number of players waiting to play. Its fair to say say that at any time of the day or night you will be able to get a great games of spades happening. The competition can be fierce, so if you are just learning how to play Spades, it is best to stick to the social room or the beginners rooms at first.

Players are partnered with those sitting directly across the table. All cards are dealt, and each player attempts to estimate how many tricks or ‘books’ they will win throughout the game. Books are determined by the highest card in the suit played, or by the highest spade card used as a trump. This means that players who do not have a playable card in the original suit can override and win the book by playing a spade (trump)on that particular round.

Games are scored according to how many books were won by each team, compared to the number of books bid. If a team bids 4 books at the beginning and actually won 7 books during the game, their score would be 43. The original bid (4), plus the remaining books that were overbid (3).

If the players had originally called 6 books and caught all 6 during the game, their score would be 60 (the original 6 books plus no overbids). Consequently, accurate bidding of books is essential to getting the highest scores possible.

If a team fails to win the estimated number of books, they are ’set’ the number of books bid. If a team bids 6 books and only captures 5 during the game, their score would be -60. This is another important factor to consider while playing the rounds.

Since the total number of books is thirteen (13), both sides are betting that they will capture their own bidded books. Each side should indeed come close to getting their allotted books. But if a partner inadvertently cuts the other partner out of a crucial book, the count can suddenly swing in favor of the opponents.

Most games of Spades are commonly played to 500 or 1000 points. The first team to reach this goal is declared the winner. However, there are special bids that can keep a team in the running even if one team is close to winning.

Partners can agree to bid ‘Blind’, where they specify a number of books they can capture WITHOUT looking at their cards. Most commonly, the bid is Blind 6, or six books caught without any consultation at all. As you can imagine, this can be quite a risky undertaking, but the team can be awarded 100 points in addition to their bid if successful.

Another special bid is called Nil. Not all players will agree to its use, so it’s always best to know the ground rules beforehand. If you are convinced that your hand is so weak that you could not possibly win a single trick, you can bid a zero, or nil, hand. Again, the opposite side is free to force you to take a book with a low card, so it is a risky bid to make. If you are successful, however, you will get bonus points.

These are only some of the selection of online sites for playing Spades. The best thing about Spades though is that it is especially addictive and fun to play.