What Is Trump in Spades?

Trump is the suit that beats all the others, and in spades the trump suit is always spades. A lonely 3♠ beats the A♥. The rest of the play rules are on the spades rules page.

How it works

• A book is won by the highest card of the suit led, unless someone played a spade.
• If one or more spades are played, the highest spade wins.
• You must follow suit when you can. You may only play a spade on another suit when you're void in that suit.
• Playing a spade on another suit is called cutting or trumping. Playing a higher spade over someone else's cut is over-trumping.

At Spades Night the trump suit also includes the Big Joker, the Little Joker and the 2♦. Their order: Big Joker > Little Joker > 2♦ > 2♠ > A♠ > K♠ … 3♠.

Example

Clubs are led: Q♣. The next player has no clubs and cuts with the 6♠. Your partner has no clubs either and over-trumps with the J♠. The last player follows with the 3♣. Your partner's J♠ wins.

Now flip it: your partner had already won the trick with the A♣ and the last opponent still has to play. Don't cut your partner's winning ace. Save your spade for a trick you actually need.

How Spades Night handles it

• Spades are trump every hand. With jokers on, both jokers and the 2♦ are spades too.
• The game only offers legal cards, so you can't cut while you still hold the suit led.
• Spades can't be led until they're broken, and cutting is the usual way they get broken.
• With jokers and deuces off, it's the plain ladder: A♠ high down to 2♠.

Variations at other tables

The trump suit itself never changes in spades. What varies is which extra cards join it: jokers, the 2♦, the 2♠ placed above the ace, and in which order. See spades card order for the common ladders. In bid whist and euchre the trump suit changes from hand to hand, and hearts has no trump at all.

Related terms

• Void: having no cards in a suit, which is what lets you cut.
• Breaking spades: when spades can be led.
• Big Joker and Little Joker: the top two trumps.
• Deuces: the 2♦ and 2♠ above the ace.
• Renege: trumping when you could have followed suit.